The Storm
by The Sneaky Fox
Summary: Tali and Shepard are content to live out their days on Rannoch, but an uprising of Cerberus disrupts these long-awaited plans of peace. Rated M for language, violence, and possible adult themes.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hello reader! My first piece, so destroy me in the reviews if you feel I deserve it. This is set post ME3, about 5-6 years after, with Shepard and Tali living happily on Rannoch.

Anyway, enjoy! (or not, your choice).

* * *

**Chapter One: A Friendly Visit**

God, did he ever hate technology.

Sitting at the kitchen table was the Great Commander Shepard, Hero of the Citadel and Saviour of the Galaxy, currently engaged in ferocious battle with the coffee machine.

He had gotten up at dawn, as per usual-military habits were a bitch to break-making sure not to disturb Tali. Going downstairs with the intent of having his morning coffee, he had discovered that the nefarious machine had decided to stop functioning.

Determined to fix the problem himself, he set out to find the source of the coffee machine's ailments. As the exterior presented no immediate or glaring contusions or other such difficulties, Shepard decided that the problem must be internal.

This decision led to his current predicament, which involved fifty or more pieces of coffee machine parts strewn about the kitchen table, some even fallen to the floor, forgotten.

"_What_ are you doing?"

Shepard looked up from his war against technology to see his wife standing with her hands on her hips in the kitchen doorway, one brow arched in question.

"Fixing the coffee machine."

"What's wrong with it?" she asked, pulling up a chair and sitting down next to him.

"I have no idea; the damn thing just stopped working," he explained, sounding annoyed.

"And you thought that the best course of action would be to dismantle it and spread everything all over the table and floor? Keelah," She laughed.

"You may not realise this Shepard, but I _am_ a quarian. I know a thing or two about repairing things. You should have just asked me for help."

He sighed. "I've been trained by the Alliance and N7 Special Forces on how to disarm bombs and make field repairs on weapons and anti-aircraft vehicles; I think I can fix a simple coffee machine."

Tali smiled, knowing his answer would be something of that nature. _He's too stubborn to ask for help_.

"And I'm quite aware that you're a quarian, Miss Zorah," he added, giving her an appreciative look.

She blushed slightly, realising that the simple night gown she wore-a small thing only barely reaching the tops of her knees-was probably a little more see through than she had initially thought. Shepard certainly didn't seem to mind, though.

A knock at the door quickly snuffed out whatever might have ensued next. Tali darted upstairs to change into something that wouldn't display her curves quite so openly.

Coffee machine forgotten, Shepard opened the door to a smiling Garrus.

"Garrus? Thought you'd be out doing Spectre business for the Council. Not that I don't appreciate the visit," he added, ushering the turian into the house.

"Well, I sort of am, but I was in the neighbourhood and thought I'd drop by." he said, walking down the hallway and into the kitchen.

"What the... is Tali trying to build something out of kitchen appliances? I heard that toaster robot-body guards are quite useful," Garrus said, mandibles quivering with amusement.

"Actually, you can blame the mess on Shepard," Tali said, appearing, once again, in the kitchen doorway, now clad in her envirosuit, sans helmet. "He's the one who pulled the whole thing apart."

"Er... what did this thing used to be?" the turian asked, picking up a particularly complex part off of the floor.

Shepard sighed. "A coffee machine. But since it has inexplicably been destroyed and I still haven't had any coffee, why don't we go out for breakfast?"

Garrus rolled his eyes. "And here I thought marrying a quarian would be good for your horrendous technical skills. Guess some things can't just rub off on people."

"If technical expertise could rub off, I'd be a master engineer by now," Shepard said, waggling his brows at Tali.

She gave him A Look, as he had privately titled such an expression, given her propensity for using it.

"Let's just go get some breakfast before you break anything else, shall we?"

* * *

The trio found a small cafe on the outskirts of one of Rannoch's smaller cities near their home, and were now each devouring a plateful of food.

"This is surprisingly good," Garrus piped up, ending the silence. "I thought I'd be eating mushy nutrient paste."

"Please, you think quarians would stick to paste when we have all this farm land?" Tali said, breaking away from her food long enough to explain the dietary habits of her people to an ignorant turian. "Besides, fresh produce and animal products are much simpler to feed to people. They just have to be cleaned, whereas before our food had to go through intense sterilisation and be put into giants vats to be ground into paste, then put into clean containers for consumption."

"Sounds like it's a lot easier for quarians to get fat now," Garrus said. "Might want to up the amorous activities with the Commander if you want to stay in shape, Tali."

"So Garrus, how's the Normandy crew doing?" Shepard asked, seeing an argument about to ensue. While normally quite even tempered, Tali's fuse became exceedingly short around their turian friend, who never failed to get a rise out of her.

"Good, good. Joker's his old smart-ass self, Kaiden's been getting a bunch of crappy diplomatic assignments from the Council, and James is actually on Earth right now, going through with his N7 training." Garrus supplied, going through the short list of people still on the Normandy.

After the Reaper War, Shepard had handed over control of the Normandy to Garrus, who seemed to have no intentions of retiring after being made a Spectre. Kaiden had stayed aboard, the SR2 being a excellent ship for Spectre missions, which usually required stealth and speed, skills that the Normandy was famous for. James had also stayed, helping out on assignments when extra firepower was needed. It seemed that he had finally decided to start his N7 training, though. Joker, of course, would never give up the control of "his ship" to anyone else, and had remained the Normandy's pilot.

Liara, along with Javik, had left for Thessia, there to publish the Prothean book Liara had been so keen on writing. She had also set up an elaborate office for her position as Shadow Broker, both being able to control most of the galaxy's information as well as moonlight as her original occupation of archaeologist.

The others have been doing an assortment of things, like working for the Alliance, people like Miranda, Jacob and Jack, whereas others tended to drift back towards their illegal tendencies, such as Kasumi and Zaeed.

"So where's everyone else if you're just hanging around here?" Tali asked, still sounding slightly annoyed with the earlier conversation.

"Can't be satisfied with just seeing me, huh Tali?" Garrus said, then quickly continued before she could give a sarcastic reply. "Like I said, James is on Earth, and Kaiden is stuck on the Citadel playing the political body guard for the Council. I don't think Joker would make the trip walking to your place, so he stayed on-board. At any rate, my assignment lead me near the Veil, so I decided to pay a visit."

"What is your assignment, anyway?" Shepard asked, sipping on his coffee. Levo-amino food was rare on Rannoch, but being the Saviour of the Galaxy had its perks. His pay check being one of them.

"Just investigating some Cerberus activity," Garrus said casually.

"Cerberus?" Tali said, slightly alarmed. "We took out their base years ago! And the Illusive Man is dead; how can there still be people left?"

"It's just a couple of loyalists really, there isn't actually an organised group left. They've just been making trouble recently, so I've been asked to scout them out." Garrus said, his casual tone still in place.

"'Recently'? It sounds like you knew they existed before. Why not take them out before they decided to cause trouble?" Said Shepard.

"Again, it's just a couple of loyalists. When they're not making trouble they're damn invisible. Besides, the tiny pro-human cult they have going is too small to worry the Council or the Alliance enough to send a dedicated strike team against them."

"Seems like nothing is big enough for the Council to take action against," Shepard muttered under his breath, drinking the last of his coffee. "You guys done?" he asked, stretching from his seat.

"Yeah, I'm full," Tali said with a contented sigh, standing up.

"You sure ate a lot, Tali." Garrus said, getting up as well.

"I still have my shotgun at home, Garrus. Be careful what you say."

"You wouldn't let your crazy wife blast your best friend with shrapnel, now would you, Shepard?" Garrus asked, a mock-pleading look in his eyes.

"Only if you deserved it, which it certainly sounds like you do."

"Well I'm screwed." the turian said, resigned.

* * *

So, that's chapter one! Pretty short, but I'm still trying to figure out what to do with the story. Might just be a couple chapters or a 150k word Encyclopedia (though I really hope not).


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Ghosts**

_His back screamed at him in pain. The metal support cables of the prefabs had snapped under the strain of the quaking earth, and one had lashed his back. Silence was his only company, that and the faint rumbling of the ground, the great worm's subterranean movements shaking the soil._

_He couldn't move, couldn't hardly breathe, the oxygen pounded out of his lungs by the whip of the cable. God, the silence-_

Shepard awoke, back arched and breathless as phantom pain shot down his spine, his muscles seizing in imitation to long-forgotten wounds.

He tried to take a deep breath, slowly lowering himself back onto the mattress, trembling. He shifted slightly, testing the muscles in his back, only to hiss as they stabbed at his nerves.

This was not new. He awoke in such a state whenever he dreamed of Akuze, though the memories never seemed to get any less painful, no matter how long ago it was.

"John? Are you alright?" he heard the soft murmur next to him, and turned his head to answer.

"Yeah, just a bad dream."

Tali propped herself up on an elbow, looking at him in the faint light cast by Rannoch's moons shining through the bedroom window. "What was it about?"

"Akuze." he said, tone preventing any elaboration on the subject.

"Shepard, if you're having trouble sleeping, maybe we should contact a psychiatrist, like Kelly-"

"No. I'm not seeing a shrink," he interrupted. "I hate being psycho-analysed. Makes me feel like a lab experiment."

"It might be good for you," Tali insisted.

"What we've been through, the things we've seen... I'd never share it with a stranger, no matter how friendly they are."

"Keelah, you're stubborn. But I can see you're point," she added. "I don't think anyone who hasn't seen horrible things happen to good people would understand. But I have, and you _can_ talk to me, John."

"I know, I just don't want to upset you." he said, pulling her close to him and resting his chin on top of her head.

She snuggled into him and pressed her face into his neck. "What upsets me is you internalizing everything and pretending that you're fine. You don't have to do that anymore, you know; you no longer have a crew looking to you for guidance."

"Guess old habits die hard," he said, grinning. "But if you're done talking about my inner demons, then we should move on to the next order of business."

"Oh? And what would that be?"

He tilted her head up with a knuckle under her chin and kissed her, long and slow.

"I think you... wake me up... in the middle of the night... on purpose." she said between kisses.

"Didn't know I was that easy to figure out," he said, a lop-sided grin on face. "Now stop talking and come here."

* * *

Shepard stretched in bed, Tikkun shining its morning rays onto his face. He felt a hell of a lot more rested than he had when he'd woken up the first time. _Might've gotten some help on that_, he thought with a grin. _Tali sure is demanding, not that I mind_.

He looked across the bed at her, still peacefully sleeping. Whatever hell they might have gone through to win a peaceful life, it was worth it. Tali was no longer trapped in an enivrosuit, and lived on a world she had only dreamed of as a child.

_And she married some idiot soldier, but as long as I get to stay with her, I won't question her judgement too much._

He pulled on pants and a shirt, making his way downstairs and into the kitchen, making a flawless cup of coffee with the new machine they'd bought.

After breakfast yesterday, Garrus had stayed to swap pleasantries and keep them up to date on what the rest of the crew was doing. Garrus left a couple hours later, whereupon Tali had tried to fix the mess Shepard had made, but had no such luck.

He was sort of proud of himself for breaking something so badly that his wife couldn't even fix it, but it was short-lived as he realised that he'd have to go out and buy a new one.

He was torn from his thoughts as he heard a sound at the door.

_Aren't we popular,_ he thought to himself, walking down the hallway to the front entrance, opening the door. _First Garrus and now-_

A gun was shoved into his stomach. His biotics flared, but they weren't enough to stop the bullet from going into his abdomen, only preventing his side from exploding from the impact of a mass-accelerator round.

He cried out in pain, but managed to swing an elbow up into his attacker's face, giving him time to try and wrest the gun from the man's grip.

The attacker retaliated, giving a biotic shove at Shepard, knocking him to the ground. _Fighting fire with fire, then._

But his attacker didn't try to finish him off, instead darting up the stairs that started at the front foyer of the house. Stairs that led up to their bedroom.

Shepard sprung to his feet, ignoring the burning pain in his side, and lunged at the man, who'd only made it up several steps. They grappled on the stairwell, Shepard slamming the man into the handrail on the wall, landing a punch on the attacker's face, and hearing the sickening crunch of a broken nose. The man roared and dropped his shoulder into Shepard's chest, shoving him into the opposite handrail. He heard the crack of wood as the man repeatedly slammed him into the rail, until the wood gave and they both crashed onto the hardwood floors of the hallway below.

Shepard became winded as his attacker fell on top of him, but he snapped a palm into the man's nose, pushing back as the attacker howled in pain, until the man was off-balance and Shepard jumped atop him.

He trapped the man's hands with his own, using his biotics to force him down.

"You're not going anywhere," he growled as the man attempted to escape, his biotic ability paling in comparison to Shepard's own. "What the hell do you want and why are you here?"

"Fuck you," the man spat.

"You better tell us, or you're going to get a face full of shrapnel."

Shepard jerked slightly as he heard Tali's voice behind him but didn't turn his attention away from the attacker. _She obviously must have heard the commotion; you'd have to be deaf not to._

"Cerberus is coming for you," the man said. "You may have killed the Illusive Man, but we still know where our loyalties lie. You'll pay for what you've done to us."

The man's face suddenly exploded in a storm of viscera, spattering the hallway and Shepard with gore.

"Keelah! What happened to him?"

"Ocular flash bangs. Guess Cerberus hasn't gotten any less gruesome over the years, even with the Illusive Man gone." Shepard said, trying to stop the bile from rising in his throat as he stood up and tried to wipe some of the blood, bone and brain matter off of him.

"Ugh! You're covered in... _him_," Tali said, gesturing with her shotgun to the headless man on the floor. "Go get in the shower and get cleaned up."

"What if another one of these freaks come by? I don't want to leave you alone," he said as he pulled off his shirt in an attempt to get the red off of his form.

"Shepard, we took back London with hordes of Reapers attacking us, fought off leagues of geth during the battle of the Citadel, destroyed the Illusive Man's base, and blew up a Human Reaper on the Collecter Base. I think I can handle a couple of Cerberus troops." she said with a smirk.

"Alright, just... Stay on guard. I'll be five minutes." he said, walking up the steps to their shower.

"What are we going to do now?" Tali asked, following him up, shotgun still in hand. Even just wearing a small night gown, she was an intimidating sight.

"Contact the Normandy and tell them we're joining the Cerberus hunt. I want these bastards dead for good."

* * *

A/N: Dun dun dun! The plot thickens. And yes, I changed the rating to M. This chapter was kinda gory and the language had turned more vulgar. So, prepare for more! Mwahahaha!

Also, I haven't written a fight scene before, so please tell me how horribly I did.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Yeah, I keep updating. I know. But stuff keeps popping into my head and I have to write it down before it slips away, which would make me a sad panda.

* * *

**Chapter 3: Gearing Up**

Shepard latched the last of his armour in place and studied himself in the mirror. Though his original N7 armour had been irreparably damaged, the Alliance had given him another set. It was more for ceremony than the actual expectation of it being used, but its weight was solid and familiar on his shoulders. The dense weave of the body suit beneath it, as well as the hard surface of the chest plate promised optimum protection against bullets and other such lethal projectiles.

"Mmm," Tali made an appreciative sound behind him. "I forgot how good you looked in armour."

He turned, seeing her likewise clad in battle attire. She wore her envirosuit, but the dark purple and gold armour placed atop was something he hadn't seen her wear since London.

"I could say the same for you," He said, smiling and stepping closer to her.

He reached out and pulled her against him. "However, I personally think you look better naked."

She smacked his armoured chest. "Bosh'tet. And although the offer is tempting," she began, noting the heated look in his eyes, "Garrus and the others will be here soon and if we're doing... you know, he'll never let us live it down."

Shepard chuckled. "I suppose you're right. Besides, we should finish packing up."

"_We?_ You mean _I_ finish packing my things, then remind you of all the things you've left around the house instead of in your overnight bag." She said with twinkling eyes and what was probably a smile, though he couldn't see it, as she had donned her mask for extra protection.

Although they were just taking a shuttle with the others back to the Normandy, both Shepard and Tali had put on armour on the off-chance that Cerberus decided to attack their home again.

"Yeah, yeah. I know. My job is to save the galaxy, not make sure I packed my toothbrush." he said, descending down the ruined staircase into the now-unbloodied hallway. They'd slumped the body of the attacker against the wall in the front foyer, hoping to bring him on board the ship and search him for intel.

"Then it's good that I'm here to make sure all your plebeian tasks are taken care of, otherwise you'd fall apart in days."

He laughed. "You're damn right I would,"

He moved through the kitchen, into the living room, where they had piled all their luggage. Despite of Tali's comment of his general lack of organisation, he packed up the rest of his toiletries (neatly, he noted with a grin), and moved onto weapons. Tali had packed away her shotgun but had kept a Predator Pistol at her hip, as did he. For his arsenal, he put in his Black Widow and Mattock Assault Rifle. Slinging the now-full bag over his shoulder, he walked out of the living room and back into the kitchen.

He heard a knock at the front door, followed by it opening by itself to admit Garrus, Kasumi, Kaiden and Miranda.

"I see your already decked out in your flashy armour, Shep." Kasumi said by way of greeting, coming over to give Tali and him a hug.

"You know me, I love making a spectacle of myself," he said casually, going over to greet the others.

"Kaiden. I see you've managed to slip away from the Council," Shepard said, shaking his friend's hand.

"Yeah, I owe you for that. Not that you planned for him to attack you, but still," he said, gesturing to the body in the hallway.

"Is this how you treat all your guests, Shepard? I thought you'd be a little more civilised than that." Garrus said, walking over to nudge the body with an armoured foot.

"Ocular flash bangs, I see," Miranda said with her usual all-business tone. "Guess he was a higher-up who knew something; they don't usually implant those in grunts."

"Good to see you too, Miranda." Shepard said, joining the crowd around the body. Tali and Kasumi came up as well, peering over his shoulder at the corpse.

"I think you need to decorate better. You might scare the neighbours off," Kasumi said in her ever-present upbeat tone.

"Not that I'm not glad you're here or anything, but well, why? Aren't you supposed to be out bleeding posh collectors bone dry?" Shepard said, turning to address Kasumi.

She scoffed. "You think I'd let you guys have a bunch of fun without me? Besides, anyone who messes up your home-something I helped you furnish and decorate, mind you-is going to pay. It isn't easy stealing a bunch of fancy decor for your house only to have it broken by some Cerberus goon."

"I'm glad you care so much, Kasumi." Shepard said dryly, turning back to the matter at hand. "Garrus, Kaiden, help me move this guy."

* * *

Now in one of the Normandy's shuttles and flying back to the ship, Shepard looked around at the aircar's occupants.

Miranda was trying to decode something from the attacker's omni-tool, Kasumi and Tali were speaking in quiet tones in one corner of the shuttle, and Garrus and Kaiden where going through any intel they had about Cerberus.

"I guess we know why the Council detected Cerberus activity so close to Rannoch," Garrus said. "They were going after you two."

"Excuse me if I don't feel flattered by the attention," Shepard said dryly. "How's the scans coming along, Miranda?"

"Not good," she said with a sour expression. "I don't recognise any of the encryptions he has on here; they must have updated them in the years after the War."

"Maybe we can ask Liara for help, she certainly has a lot of resources." Kaiden mused.

"We're about to dock, sir." Came Cortez' voice from the pilot seat.

"Acknowl-"

"Alright Cor-"

Garrus and Shepard looked at each other, both having answered at the same time.

Garrus sighed. "This might be awkward, what with two COs on board."

"No, it's just you, Garrus," Shepard replied. "I handed over the Normandy to you, and she's yours to command. I won't get in the way of that."

"Just seems weird; I might have to give you orders." Garrus said, looking almost worried at the prospect.

Shepard smiled inwardly. Even years after retiring, his old team still showed him the same respect they had back in the day. He wondered at his good fortune to be able to command such loyalty.

"It's not like you haven't tried to before, Vakarian." he said, chuckling. "You'll do fine. I promise not to step on too many toes."

Garrus laughed, looking relieved. "Good we cleared that up. Now, as your CO, my first order for you is to scrub the floors of the main battery; it's getting a little dusty in there."

Shepard threw his head back and laughed. "Nice try, smart-ass. I can already tell that our stay on the Normandy will be interesting."

"Isn't it always?"


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Yay! A long(ish) chapter! Too bad it's mostly fluff and doesn't have a lot of plot to it. That's happening in número 5.

Also, there's something a little off about this chapter but I can't really put a finger on it, so please review if there's anything awkward about it.

* * *

**Chapter 4: Reunions**

The group exited the shuttle, with Kaiden and Shepard carrying their macabre package.

As everyone stepped out, Shepard heard a voice behind him. "It's good to see you again, Commander. Even if I'm greeting you over a dead body." Cortez said as they made their way across the shuttle bay and waited for the elevator; they had to take the body to the med-bay, unable to store it anywhere else. _Chakwas is going to love this_.

Shepard chuckled. "Likewise, Cortez. Never thought I'd be exchanging pleasantries over a corpse."

"Never thought I'd be doing a lot of things before I joined your crew, sir." Cortez said with a smile.

"True enough," replied Shepard, the doors of the elevator opening to admit them inside.

He heard Cortez laugh before the doors closed behind them, with the elevator beginning its agonisingly slow ascent to Deck 3.

"Musta been a hell of a surprise, waking up to an assassination attempt." Kaiden said, looking down at the body they held with distaste.

"It's sad to say that it's not the first time it's happened to me," Shepard said with a sigh. "And he didn't try to kill me when he had the chance; he ran straight upstairs to get to Tali. At least, that's what I assume he was after. He didn't make it far,"

"I can tell. Don't worry Shepard, the Normandy's probably the safest place in the galaxy, although the Council would want you to believe it was the Citadel. She'll be safe. We all will be."

"I know, I just... she better be careful, otherwise I'll throttle her."

Kaiden laughed. "I've heard her say something similar about you."

Further conversation was cut off as the elevator stopped and opened onto the Crew Deck.

"Now let's go scare the crap out of Chakwas," Shepard said, grinning.

* * *

The Normandy was just as beautiful and complex as the last time Tali had been aboard, which was some time ago. She felt the subtle thrum of the engines beneath her feet, could smell the leather and polymer from the weapons and armour stored around the shuttle bay. _A home away from home._

"Hey, dreamer girl. If you're done standing around, come help me with your luggage," Kasumi grunted, towing their bags off of the shuttle and dropping them unceremoniously to the floor. "These things are heavy."

She bent down to help her friend. "Well, they've got all our weapons in them, plus whatever we need for our stay on the Normandy."

"Well it looks like you've got enough luggage to last you a year. Hey, ugly! Come help us with these bags!"

Garrus turned from his conversation with Miranda at the other end of the shuttle bay, apparently familiar enough with the insult to answer to it. Tali giggled.

"I don't think you should be talking to your CO like that," he called back, but walked over to help nonetheless, as did Miranda, who closed her omni-tool, a rare smile on her lips as she heard the two conversing.

"I talk to Shep like that, I don't see any reason to stop talking smack about my superiors now, especially with you in charge." Kasumi replied, toeing a bag towards him, which he lifted with ease.

Miranda lifted the last bag up with a little more difficulty. "God, what do you have in here? Boulders?"

Tali smiled, though the other woman couldn't see it. "Close. Weapons, armour replacements, and some basic necessities."

"Basic necessities for twenty people, maybe," Miranda grumbled, looking like she was holding the bag up with some strain as they made their way over to the elevator, which Shepard and Kaiden had vacated, and was now awaiting their arrival.

The woman had become far less hostile in the time Tali had known her, even going so far as to exchange banter with some of the more friendly members of the ground team. Tali wouldn't call their relationship warm, but respect was mutual between both parties, enough of it to allow them to be cordial and even friendly with one another.

Garrus poked the button for Deck One as they all shuffled into the elevator, and Tali noted with distaste that there was droplets of blood on the floor, and took pains to avoid stepping in it.

"Wait, you haven't taken up residence in the Captain's cabin?" Tali looked up from her inspection of the floor to ask Garrus, only now realising that as the Normandy's CO he should have settled into the Captain's quarters.

"Nah, too soft up there for me. The main battery's got everything I need. Besides, it didn't feel right sleeping in a bed you and Shepard have... christened." He said, pausing at the last moment to evaluate his word choice, seeing the glare Tali shot at him, even through her helmet.

"Plus, you two would go insane without being able to share a bed." Garrus added, half under his breath.

"Why does everyone think that all we want to do is have sex with each other?" Tali said, both exasperated and embarrassed.

"The Commander isn't as adept at hiding his thoughts as he thinks he is," Miranda chimed in. "Especially when he's talking to you."

"Plus, Shep is pretty cute, I'd be going at it with him if I were you. And I'm sure he appreciates your... assets, as well." Kasumi said, a sly grin forming under her hood. "Don't worry about me trying to steal him, though; he's not my type."

Tali buried her helmeted face in her hands, glad that they couldn't see her expression for once.

"Can we please stop talking about this?" She asked the occupants of the elevator, horribly uncomfortable with the topic at hand.

"You brought it up," Garrus said. "Fine, fine! Let's talk about the weather!" he said, the glare she shot him capable of melting the metal behind him. "Or how about that local sports team, huh?"

"Everyone just shut-up." Tali hissed, her face still heated with embarrassment.

They rode the rest of the way in an awkward, albeit amused, silence.

* * *

"I hope you don't expect me to try and heal this man, Shepard. I may be a good doctor, but I'm no miracle worker."

The fact the the Normandy crew could make jokes in the presence of headless bodies both slightly disturbed and darkly amused him. _Not that mental stability was ever a requirement for being part of this ship's team_, he thought. _Look at Jack and Grunt, or even Zaeed_.

Shepard chuckled. "No, doc. Just need a place to put this thing and a med-bay seemed the best place to store a bloody headless corpse."

The med-bay itself hadn't changed in the slightest; white, sterile walls, neatly made medical cots, medical supplies stored in an orderly fashion in shelves over by the sink. All of which had the faint smell of antiseptic clinging to it.

Chakwas seemed to share the same static qualities as her work area; she had an eternal look about her, much like Samara. Her hair a short steel grey, laugh lines around her mouth and worry creases on her forehead. Despite some wrinkles and grey hair, however, she still exuded the same calm energy she always had; a comforting air about her that allowed people to let their guard down and take a breather. She was, indeed, a very good doctor.

Chakwas wrinkled her nose. "I don't share your opinion, but I don't really see anywhere else we could put this poor soul. If I may ask, why are you keeping his... remains?"

"He attacked Tali and I and damaged our home; there's nothing poor about him," Sheprad growled, anger apparent in his voice. He shoved his anger down and forced himself to be calm. "And we're getting intel off of him. His omni tool processor is implanted in his arm and Miranda says that removing it destroys whatever is on its memory."

"I see. Er... why don't you just keep his arm instead of the whole body? Wouldn't it be easier to carry around just his forearm?"

Shepard and Kaiden exchanges glances. "I hadn't really thought of that," Shepard said, tone slightly amused.

"Gross as it is, I hadn't either." Kaiden agreed, looking down at the body. "Uh, can we put this down somewhere? This guy isn't exactly light." he had a slight look of strain on his face. Shepard smiled. His own muscles had a dull ache in them, but it was more from the fight this morning rather than carrying around the attacker himself. _Guess those cybernetics Cerberus stuffed in me are useful for all sorts of things. Killing people, carting around dead bodies-_

"Of course, over here." Chakwas said, interrupting his thoughts and ushering them over to the bed farthest from the door. "Hopefully he'll be less of a spectacle back here."

"Thanks, doc." Shepard said, him and Kaiden placing the body on the bed. He watched Kaiden roll his shoulders and give a relieved sigh. _And to think, this is an easy day on the job._

"I'm going to go take my armour off and say hello to the rest of the crew. It's good to see you, by the way." he added, grinning at Chakwas.

"You too, Shepard." she said, smiling warmly and patting his arm. "Even if you do bring in bodies to stink up my clean med-bay."

"I just don't want you get bored. Thought this would liven things up, so to speak."

"My God, you're worse than Garrus. Go on now, get tidied up. You've got blood all over you."

"Wait, shouldn't you let Chakwas take a look at your side? You did get shot." Kaiden said, looking concerned.

"It's fi-"

"Let me see that wound, Shepard. Armour off. Now."

He sighed. "Look, Tali already patched me up at the house and you know she worries like crazy. If I wasn't fine she'd be in here telling me to get you to take a look at me. I'm all right."

Chakwas gave him a suspicious look, but deemed Tali's absence from the med-bay an acceptable judge for Shepard's wounded condition.

"Alright. Just don't do anymore heavy lifting or fighting, you hear me?"

"Will do, doc." he grinned, relieved that he was free and followed Kaiden out of the med-bay before Chakwas changed her mind.

They walked out of the doors to the sound of uproarious laughter from Miranda and Kasumi and the sight of Garrus hurrying past them, rubbing his cheek and muttering to himself.

"Guess he finally said something stupid enough to piss off Tali," Shepard said, eyes following him into the Main Battery, the mental image of Tali slapping the turian threatening to induce him into a fit of laughter.

"Some things never change." Kaiden said, chuckling.

* * *

Shepard had gone up to the Captain's quarters to take off his armour, finding Tali up there, unpacking and neatly storing their things in drawers. When questioned on the conversation leading up to Garrus' demise, Tali simply stated that he wouldn't leave well enough alone, and left it at that. Sensing her annoyance, he vacated the area, leaving her to deal with their bags.

Now clad in casual pants and a t-shirt, Shepard stepped out of the elevator onto the CIC, finding Traynor tapping away at her console. _Seems that I was one of the few ones to actually leave the Normandy. Building Tali that house on Rannoch was definitely with it, though_.

She still looked the same as she had years before, or so far as he could tell, only able to see the back of her. Short dark hair, slim form, and wearing an ever-present crew uniform.

"Hey, Traynor. Nice to see you still on board."

She whirled around, a smile on her face. "Commander! I'm glad to see you." she walked up to him and squeezed him in a hug, or at least tried to; it was difficult when he was several inches taller and weighed double her size.

He laughed, a little surprised at the warm welcome. "Good to see you too, Traynor. Still analysing the crap out of data?"

She laughed, apparently remembering his reference to past conversations, breaking away from him. "Yeah, but there's not as much pressure on me this time; if I don't decode something in a certain amount of time, nothing'll blow up. I quite like the change of pace."

"Makes two of us," he said, chuckling. "How have you been?"

"Really good. After the War I asked to stay aboard, and Garrus certainly didn't mind if I did. He even said he was glad there was someone else to file reports besides him." Traynor laughed.

"You don't mind standing here, going through data and reports all day?"

"No, I love it. I get my thrills from decoding intel, not blowing things up." she replied, grinning at him.

He grinned back. "Fair enough. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go visit our smart-ass pilot before he decides that I'm ignoring him."

She giggled. "He is quite the attention seeker. Have fun, Commander."

He walked around the galaxy map, nodding at some crewmen in greeting as he made his way up to the cockpit.

Walking into the cockpit, he saw Joker bobbing his head to music Shepard couldn't hear, and appeared to be playing an air guitar.

"Thinking about becoming a musician? You seem to play imaginary instruments rather well."

"Commander! You're back. And you brought Tali. That's good. As long as you don't get all romantic with her than I think I can allow you guys to stay on board." the pilot said, turning in his chair to greet Shepard.

"Allow? I wasn't aware you had a say in who comes onto the ship."

"Well, after all the crazies you brought on board, I decided it was time to take charge and put a little authority on this ship."

"I was under the impression that as the Normandy's former CO there was already rules and regs on this ship." Shepard replied, walking over to stand next to Joker's chair, which had spun back around to allow the pilot to resume flying.

"You kinda sucked at being all military and crap when it came to regulations. Not that I mind," Joker added, noting the look Shepard gave him. "It's cool to be able to save the galaxy and not have to worry about filtering what you say in front of the ship's Captain."

Shepard snorted. "Like you would ever think about what you say before you blurt it out. What did you say to Miranda when she asked you to watch your mouth? 'Filters are for cigarettes and coffee'?"

"I don't remember having that conversation."

"Uh-huh. Anyway, how have you been? It's been awhile."

"Oh, you know, crippled and alone. Same old same old." Although his tone was sarcastic, Shepard could see the sadness in his eyes. EDI was gone, and she always would be. Something Joker had never gotten over.

"I'm sorry, Joker."

"Hey man, don't get all mushy and sentimental on me. I'll be fine. And what about you? Go on any suicide missions lately? Finally build that alien petting zoo in the backyard? 'Cuz I know how much you love aliens."

"Other than the assassination attempt, life's been pretty normal." Shepard said, ignoring the last part of the pilot's comments. "And normal is pretty damn good, even if it can get a little boring."

"Well, now you're back on the Normandy, so don't expect *anything* to be even a little normal."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

* * *

After unpacking all their things, Tali took off her mask, as there was little need for it. _My system is pretty adapted to the Normandy's environment, what with all the times Shepard and I've... done it_. She thought, blushing, and made her way down to Engineering.

Steeping out of the elevator and taking a left through one of the Engineering doors, she saw Ken and Gabby both standing at their respective consoles, bickering as usual.

"Look at that! The numbers _are_ off, you dope! You didn't fix the power bleed from the couplings properly!" Gabby said, turning to Ken. Even after they'd solidified their relationship as a couple and had even gotten married, a wedding both her and Shepard had attended four years back, they still seemed to bicker like crazy. Tali noticed as Gabby turned that her stomach was protruding slightly. _She's pregnant_!

"Och, are you daft? The numbers are fine! I fixed the couplings perfectly, it's just your hormones. Ye canna think straight with a wee babe in ye." Ken replied, accent thickening with annoyance and gesturing to Gabby's slightly swollen belly.

"And who's fault is that, hmm? I didn't get pregnant by myself."

"Aye well, you agreed to it. Ye didna have to say yes."

"I see that you two haven't stopped arguing since I left." Tali said, making the two turn towards her.

"Ha! When those to stop arguing, I'll eat my shoe." Adams said, coming over to greet her.

"Tali! It's good to see you!" Gabby said, welcoming her with a hug. "Also, I want you to take a look at these read-outs and tell Ken that he once again didn't do his job properly."

"Ye canna let that go, can ye? You're crazy, woman." Ken said, shooting Gabby a look.

"And it's good to see you, Bucket." Ken said, stepping past Gabby to shake her hand.

"I don't really wear my mask anymore, why are you still calling me that?"

He shrugged. "Dunno, just used to callin' ye that, is all."

She sighed. She didn't really mind; she'd been called far worse things for her status as a quarian, and his nickname was more of an odd endearment than anything else.

"Tali, glad that you're back aboard." Adams said, interrupting her thoughts and crushing her in a hug.

She oofmed from the sudden contact, but hugged him back.

"So am I. How're the engines?"

Ken, Gabby and Adams all tried to answer her at once, and all with different answers.

_It's good to be back_.

* * *

Shepard stretched, knuckles resting easily on the rafters above him, and sat down on the edge of the bed, bending down to take his shoes off. _It's been a long day_.

After the initial meetings with the crew members, Shepard had mostly just wandered the ship in search of conversation, with little else to do besides assemble his weapons and store them in the shuttle bay, which had taken a total of fifteen minutes.

Tali had stayed in Engineering for most of the day, re-familiarising herself with the engines and consoles on Deck Four.

Now, she sat on one of the couches in the cabin, undoing the seals of her suit in preparation for bed.

She had been quiet for the time they'd been up here, giving one-worded answers to his attempts at conversations.

"Tali, what's the matter?" he said, looking concerned.

"Nothing, I'm okay." she said, looking distracted.

"You know, you shouldn't internalize everything; it's not good for you."

She gave him a small smile. "Bosh'tet. Using my own words against me." she sighed. "I'm worried... and angry."

"About?"

She jumped up, sounding incredulous. "About? _About?_ What do you think I'm worried about!? I wake up to find you on top of a Cerberus assassin with blood all done your side, interrogating him! Our home is damaged and now we're out in space hunting down Cerberus!"

He stood up and walked over to her, placing his hands on her shoulders. "It'll be all right, Tali. We'll find them, and destroy them for good."

"_That's_ what I'm worried about! You storming into Cerberus headquarters, guns blazing! I thought I had to stop worrying about you dying after the War was over!" she said, eyes shining with unshed tears. She hugged him suddenly, so tight that his side burned, but he didn't say anything, simply putting his arms around her.

"I can't lose you. I won't... I..." she stuttered, her voice breaking.

"Tali, I have no plans to die anytime soon. I mean to do so as an old man, lying in bed with you."

"You can't control if you die or not, John!" She said, looking exasperated.

"You underestimate me, madam." he replied, giving her a grin.

Tali sighed, but smiled back. "I suppose if there's anyone stubborn enough to tell Death 'No', it's you. Just please, _please_ be careful, okay?"

"Just as long as you do the same. If you get hurt, I'll strangle you." he said, echoing his earlier conversation with Kaiden.

"I promise."

"Good. Now, let's go to bed. I'm tired."

"Really? You seem pretty awake to me." she said, eyeing him as he took off his shirt.

"Are you suggesting something, Miss Vas Normandy?"

"Hmmm... I don't know. Am I?" she said, walking over to him and running her hands down his chest. He moved over to the bed.

"Why don't we get into bed and find out?" he grinned, dragging her down on top of him and crushing her in a passionate kiss.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Plot! Woohoo! Also, if anyone is uncomfortable with some politician-bashing, I suggest you vacate the area immediately. I needed it to complexify (yes I know that's not a word) the chapter and flesh Shepard out a bit more.

And I know this chapter doesn't have much Tali in it, but she'll definitely appear more in the coming chapters. I love Tali, but the story hasn't called for a lot of her dialogue yet, which is going to change.

* * *

**Chapter 5: The Huntress**

Tali awoke slowly, feeling warm and groggy. she realised that Shepard was curled loosely around her, an arm thrown over her, and she smiled. The man exuded tremendous amounts of heat, which was one of the reasons she loved snuggling close to him so much.

The overhead intercom suddenly beeped. She threw the covers over her head and press into Shepard. "Go away."

It beeped again, awaiting confirmation for the call to be accepted.

She heard Shepard murmur something in his sleep, tightening his arm around her.

Another beep.

She felt him jerk awake, promptly sitting up and rubbing at his face, leaving Tali's backside suddenly cold from the absence of his body.

"What is it?" Shepard called out, already sounding fully awake. A deep-sleeping soldier was a rare thing.

"Good morning, Commander." Joker said in an overly upbeat tone. "I trust you slept well?"

"What do you want, Joker?"

"Aren't we snippy this morning. Good thing I'm here to brighten your dark mood."

"Joker," Shepard said, tone warning.

She heard a sigh over the intercom. "No one appreciates my humour. Anyway, the Human Council member is hailing the QEC, says he wants to talk to you."

The expression on her husband's face made her giggle. "Keelah, right in the morning, too. I'm really glad I'm not you." She said, grinning at him.

He gave her a dark look. "Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up. I'll be down in fifteen minutes, Joker." he said, directing the last sentence to the air above him.

"No problem, Commander."

She heard Shepard sigh as he swung his legs around to the side of the bed, fully sitting up. "I guess I have to go play politics again. And here I thought that today was going to be a good day."

"Isn't it a little early to be announcing that today is already a bad day?"

"Talking to stuffy politicians before I've even showered or had a coffee? Hell no, it isn't."

She giggled again, burrowing deep into the blankets. "Better hurry up, he's waiting for you."

She heard him mutter something about the Councillor that would not fare well in polite conversation, pulling out pants and a shirt from a drawer and shoving them on. "I'll see you later." he said, walking towards the door and giving the bed one last longing glance.

"Mmhmm," she replied, already falling back to sleep.

* * *

"Shepard. Good to see you're not disfigured from the attack Cerberus sent to your home." The Human Councillor said in cultured British tones, giving the Commander a once-over. _Meaning that you know what's happened, and you're shoving your ego down my throat to try and impress me with how much you're able to find out_.

Shepard was not in a good mood. Normally a morning person, he felt extremely agitated, a state of mentality that the Councillor played a very large part in.

The Councillor in question, a Mr. Thomas Bagley, was a very unassuming man, and when Shepard gave him a once-over of his own, he gleaned a surprising amount of information about him.

His squat stature told Shepard that the man's parents had been poor; gene therapy was so commonplace among humans even before they'd discovered the galactic community that short people were rare, especially ones with the pudgy features such as the man in front of him had, features that belonged only to those that could not afford gene augmentation in-utero. This also told him that he went into politics for the money, not for the love of the job; the rich were usually the only ones that dabbled in political games. Poor families were the labourers of the government, and thus did not see political figures in a nice light. Because the man went into the job out of necessity rather than pleasure, Shepard's opinion if the man rose a couple grudging points. His last conclusion was that the man was intelligent, evidenced by Bagley's position; without looks or money to help him gain favour, cunning was the man's greatest tool.

_Be very careful what you say, he's a hell of a lot smarter than he looks_.

"You're very well informed," Shepard commented neutrally, deciding to humour the man. _Meaning that I'm pretending to be impressed by your far-reaching arms. _

Bagley fell for it, the man practically starting to preen himself, but kept his tone likewise neutral. "Indeed. In this position, one has to be in order to stay afloat. Now, to business. The other Council members and I think it best for you come to the Citadel to help further along the investigation. I hear you even have the attacker's body, yes?"

_Very well informed._ Bagley had phrased the first part of his speech in a way that politely-always polite, these slimy bastards-ordered Shepard to come to the Citadel, his tone implying that it wasn't up for debate.

Everything said between them had two meanings: what was said and what was understood, which were two very different things.

Shepard narrowed his eyes. "Indeed," he said, echoing the man. "The Normandy was already en-route to the Citadel before you even called; I thought it best to bring the evidence to you." _I'm cooperating with you, but on my own own terms_.

It was Bagley's turn to narrow his eyes. "Very well. We also have another Spectre to help aid you in this investigation, and she'll be awaiting you're arrival in the Council chambers." _We've got eyes on you now, so don't fuck up or do anything stupid. We'll know_.

Shepard flashed his teeth, but only a fool would call it a smile. "I'm always up for new guests, Councillor." _I'll play you're game, but I know what you're up to, asshole_.

"Be ready for danger, Shepard. The intel coming in shows that Cerberus could be on the rise again. We'll speak shortly." his tone was cordial, but the way he used Shepard's name instead of his military title implied he thought himself superior to the Saviour of the Galaxy. Shepard wasn't an arrogant man by nature, but most people who didn't know him well tended to treat him with a great deal of respect, and sometimes even with a hint of fear.

"So we will." He cut the transmission and leaned back against one of the QEC's walls, sighing. _God, that was exhausting_.

"Joker?" he called out.

The answer came almost immediately. "Yeah?"

"Double-time it to the Citadel; I want this crap over and done with."

He heard the man laugh over the comms. "Will do, Commander."

* * *

"So, another Spectre's gonna be on board, huh? Maybe we should form a music band." Garrus commented as they all stepped into the airlock, having docked at the Citadel and waiting for the decontamination cycle to end. With Shepard, Tali, Garrus, Kasumi, Miranda and Kaiden stuffed into the small room, it was a tight fit.

The Commander's hand reached up to rub the back of his neck, but put it back down when he almost elbowed Miranda in the face. Not that she noticed, engrossed with whatever was on her omni-tool. "Sorry, I shoulda gone over that with you. I don't mean to try and take control away from you, Garrus."

"Don't worry about it. I know you couldn't turn down the Council's 'help' without sounding like some pompous ass who wants to do everything on his own."

Shepard heard snickering, and looking to his right he saw Tali covering her mouth with her hand.

"What's so funny?" Shepard asked, though he already suspected what she was laughing at.

"You don't have to try very hard to sound like a pompous ass, Shepard."

"Well-"

"Decontamination complete." The ship's VI said in a flat tone, cutting off their impending argument. Shepard sighed to himself. Sometimes he really missed EDI.

Garrus looked around at the airlock's occupants. "Everyone get ready. This mission will be highly dangerous, so stay sharp." He grinned.

Kaiden chuckled. "I was on the Citadel like a day ago, and now I get to go back again. Lucky me."

They filed out into the private dock they had secured, and looking to the far end of the metal walkway, Shepard saw an elevator. _Great_.

"Uh, Shepard?" Kaiden said, holding up the bag he'd been carrying gingerly. "How are we gonna get this past security?"

Per Chakwas suggestion, they had cut off the arm of the attacker and had disposed of the body into the vacuum of space, having little place else to put it.

The man's forearm was now inside the bag Kaiden was holding, a fact he didn't seem very happy about. Not that Shepard could blame him.

"I have no clue. I suppose we could abuse our authority as Spectres and just skip security all together."

"Abuse of power? So, the usual, then." Garrus said dryly.

"Sounds like a plan. Never been much for security patting me down, personally." Kasumi chimed in.

"That's because you have thousands of credits worth of stolen valuables on your person at any given time." Garrus pointed out.

"I do not-"

"Let's just go meet with the Council. I want to get this over with." Shepard said quickly, diffusing the tension.

Tali chuckled to herself, speaking quietly to Shepard as they made their way to the elevator. "Nothing's changed, even after all these years, hasn't it?"

Shepard laughed. "Nope. But even though it's sometimes annoying to hear the crew bicker, I wouldn't change a thing."

She smiled, hooking an arm through his own. "Neither would I."

* * *

The Citadel was still in repairs, even five years after the War. The Presidium was naturally the first one to be completely fixed, with three of the Wards nearly finished as well. Out of the two others, one was under heavy construction and the other was still uninhabitable, not yet having been tended by workers. Many of the keepers who tried to gain access to that damaged part of the Citadel died attempting to fix it, either because of vacuum temperatures or floating away into space, making its progress to habitability slow going.

The group of six managed to slip past security after flashing their Spectre badges at them, now stepping into the Council Chambers.

"Man, you'd never think this place was even damaged." Kaiden remarked, looking at tinkling fountains and well-tended greenery that adorned much of the Council's beloved chamber.

"Yeah. Kinda like what happened after Sovereign attacked; you can almost forget what's happened." Garrus said, looking at the decorations around him with mild distaste as they moved up the staircase and stepped onto the platform that allowed them to see the raised dais the Council always occupied, which was a lot more crowded than the last time Shepard was here.

After the Great Unification during the Reaper War, every species was granted a seat on the Council. The dais that the original trio of Councillors had stood on was far too small to hold the plethora of representatives from each species, so additions had been made.

The turian, asari, and salarian Councillors stood in their original spots. To their left, the volus and elcor. To their right, the hanar and drell-who acted together as one member-and the human member, Bagley. Slightly below the dais was another long, curved platform, on which krogan, quarian, vorcha, batarian, and rachni members stood.

The sight made Shepard's blood boil, and he had to force himself not to clench his fists. All the species that had had an embassy on the Citadel before the Reaper War stood next to the original three Council members, with the ones who hadn't standing below them. Although they all had a say in galactic political matters, the message it sent was clear. _You're not one of us yet_.

_Even after everything that's happened, they still won't share power equally._ Shepard thought.

"Councillors." he said by way of greeting.

"Commander. And company." Sparatus said, inclining his head. He did it grudgingly, but it was something.

"Welcome, Commander. I trust that you are well?" Tevos asked.

"Indeed, as are my friends. Now, about Cerberus-"

"Yes, we've discussed this, Shepard." Bagley interrupted. "Reports from our other agents tell us that Cerberus might be bigger than initially thought. Do you have the evidence?"

Shepard ushered Kaiden to come forward with the bag, Miranda stepping up as well. She gestured for the bag to be passed to her, which Kaiden relinquished gratefully, and took out its contents.

Several gasps echoed in the room, and he heard small sounds of retching from some of the on-lookers.

Tevos spoke up. "Commander, _why_ is there a human forearm in Ms. Lawson's hand?"

Miranda spoke up before he could. "It's our evidence. The assassin had his omni-tool processor implanted in his arm, with an auto-erase feature should it ever be removed from his body. The data is still heavily encrypted and I'm not able to download the data onto my own omni-tool because of it, so that's why I'm holding his arm." Her reply was all-business, and Shepard was glad she was here; nothing was more rewarding than the sight of a surprised politician.

"...I see. Er... If you can't download any of the data onto another omni-tool, does that mean you're giving it to us?"

"Yes, Councillor, we are."

Looks of disgust flashed across many of the representatives faces, and Shepard felt extremely pleased with himself. _Let them do some dirty work for once_.

"Very well." said Bagley, looking like he expected something like this to happen. "Now, Shepard, I'd like to get on with this meeting by introducing you to your newest crew member. She has taken down many Cerberus operations, both in the past and now, and has been our best source of information." he gestured past Shepard and the others to something behind them.

"Commander. An honour to finally meet you." a voice, slightly accented with something he couldn't pin point, said behind them.

He and his group all turned to see the new arrival.

The human woman before him was tall, as tall as him, probably, and slim, but built with lean muscle. Her skin was a deep, rich brown, and had eyes so light a shade they seemed almost golden. She wore deep gold armour, which had a small N7 logo on the breast (something that both surprised and impressed him) and ebony Spectre insignias on the shoulders. The armour accentuated both her curves and highlighted her oddly-coloured eyes. Her hair, long and black, was pulled back from her face in a braided ponytail, which added to her striking features. The woman looked like an ancient Amazon warrior. Shepard wondered how long she'd been standing there.

"And you are?" he said, trying not to sound impressed.

White teeth flashed on a dark face. "My name is Aisha Toure, at your service."

The rest of the group introduced themselves. He noted with a smile that Kaiden seemed to trip over his words slightly, while Miranda just rolled her eyes at his infatuation and greeted Toure with her usual business-with-a-hint-of-ice tone.

"Yes, yes. Pleasantries exchanged and all that. Now, what will your first actions against Cerberus be?" Valern asked, sounding annoyed at the introductions.

"I don't know," Shepard said honestly. "Might ask some old friends for info, see if they know anything."

"See Urdnot Wrex, Shepard. Cerberus has been trying to steal the supplies we've been shipping to help rebuild Tuchanka. He'll have something for you." The krogan Council member spoke up.

Shepard turned to him, noting that the Councillor's head-crest was Urdnot red. _Wrex has got his claws in everything, hasn't he?_ He thought, amused.

"Thank you, Urdnot..." he said, waiting for a name.

The krogan gave him a toothy grin, an expression that would scare most people. Shepard found it oddly comforting though, as it reminded him of his krogan friend. "Sajuk, Commander." the Councillor replied, respect clear in his voice.

"Thanks, Urdnot Sajuk. I appreciate the help."

"The krogan owe you a great deal, Shepard. More so than even some of the other races. I'll help you blow those bastards straight to hell any way I can."

Shepard laughed. _I could learn to like krogan politicians. They're not afraid to say whatever pops into their head_.

"Is that all?" Tevos asked, addressing everyone in the room. A chorus of 'yes's was the response.

"And does anyone have anything to add?"

A unanimous negation answered her.

"Then this meeting is now concluded. We all wish you luck on your hunt, Commander. Be sure to report any relevant information to us."

"Will do."

* * *

"That was quick," Kasumi commented. "I thought we'd have to sit there and listen to them drone on about who-knows-what."

"I'm not complaining." Shepard replied.

Vacating the Council Chambers and walking back to the elevator, Shepard addressed their newest crew member. "You're an N7 graduate, Toure?"

She looked at him, smiling slightly. "I see you noticed the symbol on my armour. Yes, I graduated some time ago. However, I am no longer with the Alliance."

They all entered the elevator and waited for it to take them back to their private dock.

"Did you leave, or were you discharged?" Kaiden asked.

"I left. The operations they sent me on we're quite... sensitive, but the restrictions placed upon me were so cumbersome that I could not do my job."

Shepard chuckled. "Seems to be the theme of this group. A lot of the Normandy's past crew member left organisations due to their restrictive nature. C-Sec, Alliance, you name it."

"And as most of them seemed to stay with you during your campaign of suicide missions, I trust that rules will not interfere with our duties?" Aisha asked.

"To a point. As long as innocent people are not harmed and you're not cruel, I'm generally okay with it. Although, Garrus might've changed the rules since I was gone."

"You no longer have command of the Normandy?"

"Shepard wanted to take a shot at being normal for once, so he gave control to me. But since we're on the Citadel gathering intel on how to take down Cerberus, the Commander's plan didn't work out too well." Garrus explained.

She laughed, a sound of honey poured over steel. "I see. As for your earlier comment about rules, you seem to have quite the sense of honour, Commander."

The elevator dinged and they exited the cramped space to travel back to the Normandy.

"The morale high-road isn't an easy path to walk, but I sleep better at night because of it."

"I do not judge. I simply commend you for your dedication; honourable choices are rarely easy ones."

"Don't I know it."

They stepped into the airlock of the Normandy and waited for the decontamination cycle to complete in silence.

Once done, they stepped out and Aisha spoke up again.

"You're ship is quite beautiful. It is a pity there are not more like her."

Joker, apparently overhearing the comment, turned in his chair to speak up. "No way, this baby's one of a-" he stopped, looking at the mass of people congregated around the cockpit's entrance, eyes falling onto Toure.

"Who are you?"

Joker's incredulous tone made Shepard smile. Kaiden wasn't the only one who seemed awe-struck by her.

She walked over to his chair, her movements liquid and graceful, not wasting an ounce of energy.

"Aisha Toure. I've been tasked by the Council to aid you in the hunt for Cerberus."

Joker swallowed. "Uh... cool." he said, then gained back some of his composure. "You're not crazy, are you? 'Cuz Shepard kinda likes bringing pyschopaths on board."

Her laugh was musical. "Although it is hard to judge one's own sanity, I'm quite confident in my mental stability." she turned back to address Shepard, and he saw Joker's eyes widen slightly as the pilot saw the back of her, eyes drawn to certain points of her anatomy.

"Is there a place that I may sit quietly? Although the day is only half over, I feel drained." The way she talked reminded Shepard of Samara, her accent making her sound mysterious and otherworldly.

He nodded. "The lounge on Deck 3 is pretty quiet."

She quirked a brow, looking amused. "A warship with a lounge? You have an odd vessel, Shepard."

He laughed. "You can say that again."

Aisha flowed through the crowd around the door, making her way over to the elevator.

"Dude! You need to get like ten more of those!" the pilot exclaimed, slapping his armrests in excitement.

Miranda snorted. "You're a pig."

"Uh, did you see that chick? She makes you look like a block."

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "I reiterate: you're a pig."

"Awh come on, I didn't mean it in a bad way. Just... damn."

Shepard chuckled. "I'm glad you approve, Joker. Wouldn't want to tell her to get lost because the pilot didn't approve."

"If anyone's leaving, it's definitely not her."

Miranda's omni-tool beeped. "Looks like my program's been making some headway." she said, burying her face into a screen.

"On what?"

"The encrypted data from the assassin." she replied, sounding like she was only half paying attention.

"I thought you couldn't transfer the data to you're omni-tool." Shepard said.

"Don't believe everything you hear, Commander." Miranda said, looking up. She had a wicked smile on her lips.

Shepard laughed. "So you gave the arm to the Council just to make them uncomfortable?"

"Maybe."

Laughter echoed through the group as they dispersed to their respective places aboard the Normandy, Miranda almost running into a crewman as she scanned through info on her omni-tool. Shepard clapped a hand on Garrus' shoulder before he could leave for the main battery. "I want to talk to you."

He walked him away from the cockpit and about halfway down the bridge, hoping for at least a little privacy. "I'm sorry. I keep doing it."

Garrus gave him a confused look. "Doing what?"

"Taking charge of things and... I shouldn't be. This is your ship now; I have no right to be handing out orders. Hell, I'm not even an XO. That's Kaiden's job."

The turian laughed at him. "Shepard, this was your ship for a long time. Well, it seemed like a long time, anyway. And everyone defers to your judgement naturally; people assume that the Saviour of the Galaxy knows what to do at any point in time. Now I know that you'd be pretty useless without me whispering in your ear telling you what to do, but you knowing how to handle yourself, and how to handle others. It's probably easiest if I just give you temporary control of the Normandy till this mess is done."

"What? No! This is your ship-"

"And as its Captain I'm relinquishing temporary control over to you."

Shepard sighed, seeing that he wouldn't get anywhere with his argument. "Are you sure?"

"Positive. That way there's no power struggle. It'll probably be less confusing for the crew if you're the only one ordering people around, anyway."

"Alright. I'll see you later, Garrus."

"Same to you, Shepard." the turian replied, heading towards the elevator.

Shepard simply stood there in the middle of the bridge after Garrus had left, laughing to himself.

"This is certainly an interesting trip, all right."


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: just because this will be talked about in this chapter, I'm putting in a little side note.

L5n - Vanguard class (Shepard)

L5x - Adept class (Aisha)

[Found above info from Mass Effect Wiki, Category: Classes]

Also, I based Aisha's fighting style loosely on the N7 Fury from the ME3 multiplayer, so if you haven't played it... go play. It's super fun.

As you probably figured by the title of this chapter and the little side notes above, there's gonna be a bunch of flashy training stuff going on.

* * *

**Chapter 6: Training**

Tali didn't like her.

She didn't like the way Aisha walked, or talked, or laughed. And she definitely didn't like the way she looked at Shepard.

At first Tali realised that it was petty and immature to not like someone because of how beautiful they were, and had pushed those feelings down and really tried to like Aisha.

But then she looked at her husband. A golden gaze of heat and promise should the Commander ever see those glances she shot as his back.

Not that Tali could blame her; Shepard drew people's eyes wherever he went.

She looked over the mess table to see him standing in the small kitchen area, eating mushy Alliance rations with a determined expression on his face. She was so used to his presence in her life that she sometimes forgot how much larger-than-life he must seem to outsiders.

She studied him, trying to take a stranger's point of view and look at him as if for the first time.

Powerful, broad shoulders. Hard muscle that stretched his shirt across his tall frame. A commanding presence and vitality that flowed off of him, an aura that made him impossible not to notice. His eyes were a brilliant blue, which could turn into shards of ice when angry, or a soft, deep azure that made her melt a little when he looked at her. Eyes that held fierce intelligence and a hint of humour, something most soldiers adopted to cope with the horrors they saw on a daily basis. A strong jaw which always seemed to have a couple days worth of stubble on it -he didn't really give a damn about military appearances- and high cheekbones.

It was no wonder Aisha couldn't keep her eyes off of him. When Tali had first met Shepard, she couldn't either.

Had Aisha been on board during their hunt for the Collectors and looked at Shepard like that, when her and the Commander's relationship had only just begun to blossom, Tali might've blasted her in the face with her shotgun.

Now though, being married to Shepard for several years and knowing in her heart of hearts that the man loved her and only her, she wasn't nearly as bothered by those flirtatious glances as she would've been before.

And Aisha was drawing some eyes of her own. Which meant most of the male crew members. Traynor seemed a little awe-struck at Aisha's sudden appearance on the Normandy, as well. Toure's rich brown skin and gold-flecked eyes made her look exotic, a quality that her tall height and generous curves only added to. Her voice was cream and silk, but held a hint of steel that spoke of past hardships, a steel that Shepard's voice always seemed to also hold.

Tali was definitely interested in getting to know more about this enigmatic women, but that didn't mean that she had to like her.

* * *

Following Urdnot Sajuk's advice, Shepard instructed Joker to set a course for Tuchanka. However, the crew had about eight hours to kill before they got there.

Now in the mess hall with food in hand, Shepard stood leaning on the kitchen counter, eating his rations with distaste. Five years spent on Rannoch eating warm, home-cooked food had ruined his ability to even slightly enjoy Alliance food.

"Why do you stand when you eat, Commander?" He heard Aisha ask over from the mess table. Everyone had followed Shepard's example and were now eating lunch.

He shrugged. "Old habit. I grew up on ships, and the crew's quarters were so tiny that only half a dozen people could ever sit down to eat. Being the only kid on board, I was always made to stand, leaving seats for the much older crew members." He said, eating a spoonful of mush and frowning.

"And what about you, Miss Zorah?" Aisha asked, turning to Tali. "You grew up on ships as well, yes?"

Tali nodded. "Yes, but on a quarian liveship. They were much bigger than the warships that guarded the flotilla, or even many Alliance warships. There was always room to sit, even if it was pretty crowded. My father was also an Admiral, so people made sure I had room to sit and eat." She frowned, and Shepard felt his lips tug into a smile; Tali hated attention, especially the preferential kind.

Aisha smiled. "I see. It seems that my time aboard the Normandy will educate me in many things." Aisha turned to him, golden eyes resting on his. "I have a proposition for you, Commander."

He saw Tali stiffen and the expression on her face made it very difficult for him not to laugh. He managed to keep a straight face, but he still felt his lips twitch.

"Yeah?"

"I have heard that you are a talented biotic. I ask if you would like to train with me."

"You might want to ask Kai- uh, where is he?" Shepard said, realising that the biotic in question wasn't present.

Garrus spoke up. "His quarters. Said he had one of those bad implant headaches."

With Liara gone, Kaiden had quickly called dibs on her office, apparently bored of the sleeper pods, and had set up camp in there, which was where he now resided.

"Implant headaches?" Aisha questioned.

Shepard nodded. "He's an L2, and his implant gives him migraines sometimes."

"And what are you, Commander?"

"An L5n. My biotics were pretty crappy before I... died," he told her, pausing slightly. He was uncomfortable with talking about his death. "But Cerberus put a new implant in my head, so now they're actually useful in combat. And what about you? You must be a biotic if you're asking to train."

"An L5x. My abilities were why I was inaugurated into the N7 program, and was the specialty that I graduated with."

"Impressive." Shepard said genuinely. "There aren't a lot of biotics in the Alliance to begin with, and even less who've been trained in the Special Forces."

She smiled. "Indeed. Now, about my offer..."

He shrugged. "Why not? We've got plenty of time to kill and I don't think we'll be doing anything too rigorous on Tuchanka. I'll finish my meal and meet you in the shuttle bay. You wanna join in, Miranda?" he asked, looking at the other biotic in the room.

"Hmm?" She asked, looking up from what was probably the data from the attacker she was decoding. "No, I'll pass."

Shepard shrugged. "Suit yourself."

Aisha stood up, the braids of her ponytail swaying slightly with her movements. "Very well. Do not wear your armour; simple combat is all I wish to be doing."

With that said, she left for the elevator, presumably to put on civvies in place of the gold armour she still wore.

Shepard rubbed the back of his neck and looked at everyone at the table. "I don't think I've ever worn armour for training outside of the N7 program. If she trains with it on on a regular basis, this might get ugly."

Kasumi laughed. "For you maybe."

* * *

Tali watched the two train in fascination. She had seen Shepard's abilities many times before, but this was something new.

Shepard and Aisha stood in the middle of the shuttle bay, hurling attacks at one another.

Garrus, Kasumi and Tali had all congregated in the shuttle bay to watch the two train, along with Ken, Adams and Gabby, who had heard the commotion below and come to see what was going on. Cortez and Chakwas was also present, the doctor reasoning that she needed to be there in case anyone got hurt. They had pulled out chairs and sat behind the ring of consoles that were present right outside of the elevator, giving the two Spectres training ample room to fight.

Aisha had appeared out of the lift wearing a white, sleeveless shirt and loose dark pants, with Shepard in a simple Alliance t-shirt and crewmen cargo pants.

Having both arrived at Deck 5 and stepping onto the open space of the bay, Toure had begun the training session without warning, flinging biotic sparks at Shepard. The sparks were so weak that on their own would do almost nothing, but when as many as Aisha was throwing at Shepard were used all at once, the attack was overwhelming.

Shepard had blocked with half a dozen quickly-made barriers and thrown an attack of his own, shockwaves strong enough to down a krogan.

But Aisha was quick, and danced around them with ease, dark, purple sparks flashing around her.

She was hauntingly beautiful, Tali thought. Toure and Shepard were as different as night was to day; Aisha's attacks were meant to confuse and overwhelm, and only when her victim was stunned would she strike. Shepard's attacks were powerful and quick, meaning to cripple and defeat his opponent efficiently and cleanly; delusion was not his main goal. It _was_ Aisha's, however.

They were both shimmering with biotic energy. It rolled off of Shepard like a billowing blue fog from a storm, power that made the eye drawn to him. Yet Aisha's was a deep purple, sparking off of her like dark fireworks, seeming to soak up the light around her and shroud her in darkness. The effect made it difficult for Shepard to follow her movements.

They attacked one another for quite some time, Aisha not being able to stun the Commander long enough to down him, but neither was Shepard able to land a solid hit on her.

Finally, he hit her with a shockwave, staggering her. His fist glowed and he pushed it out to send another attack towards her, but she suddenly wasn't there.

She appeared a few feet to his left, throwing more sparks at him to cloud his vision. He threw a powerful attack at her, meaning to lift and throw her across the bay, but she disappeared again.

Appearing to his right, she shoved him with dark energy, making him stagger. His reflexes were incredibly quick, almost instantaneously recovering, but Aisha hid from his vision once more.

He felt her behind him. She wrapped her hands around him and splayed her fingers on his chest, grinding herself against him. "Hello, Commander." she whispered into his ear, voice a dark temptation.

Shepard loved Tali. He really did. With all his heart. However, he was also a man. And Aisha's breasts pressing against his back was distracting, to put it lightly.

He felt her disappear, then was suddenly shoved onto the floor as she appeared in front of him, knocking him down with dark energy.

Her golden eyes flashed with humour as she stood before him. "I am impressed, Commander; most people that I train with last less than a minute, whereas you lasted almost five."

He heard laughter from the on-lookers echoing in the shuttle bay, most notably Garrus' flanged tones.

"How... did you do that?" he panted, trying to catch his breath, laying on the ground.

Aisha appeared to be completely calm, not even slightly out of breath. "The shifting? It is an old technique of asari origins, mostly uses by huntresses. It is difficult to learn and almost impossible to master, but I flatter myself with the opinion that I do quite well with it."

"Okay, but... how? I don't think I've ever seen someone disappear with only using biotics."

"It is similar to a biotic charge, or even how Mass Relays work, but on a much more precise level." She began, offering a hand up, which he took, standing a little unsteadily from the strain of rigorously using his abilities. "You generate a tunnelled field that lightens the mass of objects to such an extent that your movements from one place to the next seem instantaneous. Creating that sort of tunnel is extremely difficult and as a result works best with only small jumps. The jumps themselves are somewhat disorienting at first; you only take one step and suddenly you move a few feet instead of a few inches."

"Huh." Shepard said, sounding like an idiot but having no idea what else to say.

"Well that was... interesting. Thanks for beating the crap out of me Toure." he said, grinning tiredly. Tali walked over to him with two bottles in hand. She gave one to him and one to Aisha. "These are those biotic energy drinks you seem to like so much."

"Thank you." he said gratefully, unscrewing the cap and taking a generous swig, watching Aisha do the same, albeit with a lot more grace. "And I don't really like them; they taste horrible. But knocking people around is so fun that I just drink these to help me get back on the field."

Tali laughed. "I see. Well, if your training session is over, I think I'll go back to Engineering and check on the engines before we touch down on Tuchanka."

She stood up on her toes to plant a kiss on his lips. It seemed quick peck at first, but ended up lasting longer than what was probably socially appropriate, not that Shepard was at all complaining.

She gave him an appreciative look before heading back to the elevator, giving Toure a look as well, one that was a lot less warm.

_She's jealous_. Shepard thought, amused. _She obviously saw what Aisha had done. I should probably talk to her about that. After I've had a shower, though_. He decided, noticing the sweat down the front of his shirt.

Aisha walked past him, her hair and clothing not even slightly out of place or looking at all sweaty. "I enjoyed that, Shepard. Perhaps we shall train again sometime."

"If I'm ever feeling too mighty I may come train with you again to help knock me down a couple of pegs."

She laughed softly and walked towards the lift, along with the other crewmen going back to their duties. All that were in the shuttle bay now were Kasumi, Garrus, Chakwas and Cortez, the former three there presumably to talk to him, the latter going back to his work station with a quick smile and a nod to Shepard.

"So that was... interesting."

"Don't even start, Vakarian. I know I got my ass kicked; I don't need you telling me." Shepard said, his tired grin taking the sting from his words.

Garrus laughed and have him an innocent look. "Me? Mock you? Now when has that ever happened?"

Chakwas spoke up before Shepard could fire back a sarcastic remark.

"How are you feeling? And how is your side?" she asked, looking concerned.

Shepard had actually forgotten the gunshot wound he'd gotten a couple days prior from the Cerberus attacker. Those cybernetics he had in him were damn useful for healing up terrible wounds.

He laughed and prodded his side, finding himself in little pain. "Fine. I actually forgot about it until you brought it up. As for my general health, I'm just a little tired."

Chakwas nodded, pleased. "Good. Now go take a shower. You smell like a locker room."

Kasumi and Garrus' laughter filled the air as he headed towards the lift.

* * *

Despite what Aisha had said about their training session lasting five minutes, a good hour had been used up, although it seemed like only five minutes.

Stepping out of the shower with a towel around his waist, Shepard saw Tali sitting on the edge of the bed, hands fidgeting with one another.

"You know, if you keep doing that you're going to pull a finger off." Shepard remarked, sitting on the bed next to her and pulling her close.

"Sorry, old habit."

He laughed quietly. "You don't have to apologise. I actually think it's cute when you do that. Done in Engineering?"

She gave him a distracted smile. "Yeah. Adams, Ken and Gabby have it all running pretty smoothly down there, so all I really had to do was read over some scans."

"Good. Now, what's bothering you?" He had pretty much figured it out, but he asked anyway.

"How do you know something is bothering me?"

He gave her a look. "I've known you what, seven years? I know when something's up. Besides, you only play with your hands when you're really worried or nervous about something."

"Alright. And I don't want to sound like a jealous, possessive wife but... I don't like Aisha."

He smiled, resting his chin in her head and squeezing her shoulder. "Yeah, she can be a little... intense. But then again, I have to put up with other guys looking at you."

"What?" Shepard had always told her that she was beautiful, and on some level she believed it, but she hadn't really noticed any particularly heated looks from men. Other than Shepard's, anyway. _Well aren't you blind?_

"Yeah. I see guys looking at you all the time. I usually want to punch that damn smirk off their faces when they walk by, but it probably wouldn't be good to cause a scene, so I don't."

She giggled. "I didn't know it bothered you."

"It only bothers me as much as it bothers you." he kissed the top of her head and looked at her. "Don't worry about Aisha. Just remember that although she might look at me all the time, and I can't really blame her-" Tali smacked his chest, laughing, but he wasn't finished. "It's you that I go to bed with every night. And morning. And occasionally after breakfast. Or lunch. Or-" he laughed when she pounced on him, interrupting his words.

"Speaking of bed..." she trailed off, kissing his neck, moving up to nibble his earlobe.

"Mmhmm?" he replied, his train of thought drifting off.

She sat up, straddling him and giving him a look that made his blood pump to his loins with a quick, throbbing pulse.

"It'll still be hours before we land on Tuchanka, and if you're looking to kill some time... I have a suggestion."

"And what would that be?" He asked thickly, eyes glazing over as she undid the various clasps and buckles and slipped the top half of her envirosuit off, exposing her high, round breasts.

"You tell me."

He reared up and kissed her; her lips, her cheeks, her nose. He trailed down her neck, stopping to deliver his ministrations to her breasts, hearing her moan as she clutched at his head with desperate fingers, a silent plea for more.

He was happy to oblige her.

* * *

Yeah, I ended another chapter with them doing the dirty. But whatever.

Don't lie. I know you love it.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: This one's pretty short, but it's a very important chapter.

And man. These updates are coming out super quick. But I've been very inspired so far and have stayed up for like the past two nights writing down a crap load of stuff, which keeps popping into my head and as I said earlier, if I don't write it down it slips away. Which again, would make me a sad panda.

* * *

**Chapter 7: A Plan in Motion**

Aisha Toure stood in the elevator, all other crewmen in the lift now gone off to do their duties, and waited for it to take her to the lounge, thinking.

She thought of many things; the disgust she kept well hidden in front of the aliens aboard the ship, how intelligent Miranda Lawson was turning out to be, and how difficult it was trying to keep up a friendly facade, even as good an actress as she was.

Manipulation was almost second nature to her. Her parents had been eezo miners, and when an asteroid from the belt her parents had been excavating in had hit their ship, killing her father and exposing her mother, who was still pregnant with her, to the dark element, Aisha's hardships had began.

Her mother had begun to get sick and start to wither away, and by the time Aisha had been born her mother had been little more than a husk. The eezo had riddled her mother's body with tumours, but had given Aisha incredible powers.

With no parents and being born in a small, poor colonial hospital, Aisha had quickly learned to survive on her own. She had been given to a number of foster parents that had abused her whenever she displayed her unique abilities, and at some point she had simply run away, knowing she could do better by herself.

Aisha had at first hated herself for the dark energy she could wield at a flick of her finger, but had soon learned to love it as she realised that she could manipulate people through fear to get what she wanted.

As she grew older she came to know that fear was a basic and crude manipulative tool. You had to constantly remind people that you were more powerful than them, and fear made people do stupid things. No, beauty and infatuation were much more useful, much more powerful. And Aisha was incredibly beautiful.

_Beautiful enough to attract batarian slavers. Beautiful enough to make them want to-_

No. She would not think of those things. Those past events. She was stronger than that.

Yes, Aisha thought of many things. But right now, her thoughts were occupied with how best to go about killing Shepard.

When she heard that the man was heading to Tuchanka, a plan had formed in her mind. One she was now acting upon. She needed to make sure that the Commander went to see his krogan ally, Wrex, alone, and in order for that to happen a reason had to be made to make sure everyone stayed on board the ship except for him.

Her omni-tool was set to sound-off a high-pitched tone too high a frequency to be heard by anyone. It's purpose was to interfere with old neural-implant technology, such as an L2 biotic amp. She hadn't needed to ask Shepard what implant Alenko had inside his head; Cerberus had extensive files on everyone associated with the Commander.

She had never been one of the Illusive Man's favourite agents, and she knew that he hadn't trusted her. His mistrust had been well placed, as she had made copies of the plethora of data he had stored in his massive banks of intel. The man was paranoid, but not enough realise that she was adept not only in biotic ability and manipulation, but also technology, a fact she had done well to keep hidden from him.

The data gave her many things to work with; the frequency her omni-tool was setting off, for example. With the L2 left with a crippling migraine, Kaiden wouldn't be a problem.

She had a simple solution for the others. One that would corrupt the data that Lawson was decoding, as well as keep the rest of the crew on board.

First, she had contacted Bagley, asking him to dispose of the arm the Commander had idiotically given the Council in an effort to piss them off.

Bagley had complied, of course. When she had first asked him to help her with the uprising of Cerberus, he had been skeptical. After she had slept with the little pig a few times he'd become besotted with her, making his loyalty absolute.

All he would have to do was plant a small virus into the memory core of the attacker's omni-tool. It would destroy the data while making it look as if the encryption on the intel had mutated and acted out.

It was not an unbelievable story. The data the Illusive Man had recovered from the Collector Base years ago, even after Shepard had blown it up, was considerable. Enough to make encryptions so complex that they would send out advanced EMPs, frequencies that could shatter eardrums, or even corrupt the very data it protected should one try to access certain parts of its code. Something she had made the Council aware of when she pretended to take down Cerberus operations and collect intel in the past.

Lawson didn't know the encryption did any of this, of course; When the Collector Base was destroyed, the Illusive Man had pegged Miranda as a traitor, leaving her in the dark about the highly-advanced technology he had collected.

Now all Aisha had to do was set off the EMP in the encryption's safety protocols from the copy Miranda had on her omni-tool, and everyone aboard the Normandy would be so busy rebooting systems and making sure everything ran smoothly again that they wouldn't notice what was happening to Shepard on Tuchanka before it was too late.

* * *

This was a bitch to write, for some reason; I re-wrote it like three times. I tried to make Aisha sound intelligent and evil without making her seem like some cliche-villain type that sat in a dark corner rubbing her hands together and cackling to herself.

So if she sounds like that, please tell me.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Donnelly isn't really important in this chapter but I want to clarify one thing he says so as not to cause confusion.

Ken: verb. Scottish slang for "know".

For example: _I ken you're not a fan of the ME3 ending, but give it a chance_.

No, I am not talking about his name. He uses "ken" in a sentence in one scene and I just wanted to make sure no one was super confused, like Tali is when she's talking to him.

* * *

**Chapter 8: Tension**

Miranda sat at the mess table, omni-tool and a cup of cold coffee in hand, feeling extremely irritated. Her decoding sequence wasn't working properly and it was pissing her off.

She tapped at a few keys, trying to figure out what had happened. It had been working this morning, and she'd been making real progress with unlocking the encryption, but now it was shutting her out all together and she couldn't figure out why.

She accessed her omni-tool's memory banks and tried to re-boot the system-

Her omni-tool gave a horrible whine and she saw sparks flash from the overhead lights. She heard the Normandy's systems powering down and suddenly everything was dark.

_Look at what you did now_.

* * *

With still-wobbly legs, Tali made her way to Engineering, a smile on her face. She'd spent the last couple hours in bed with Shepard and she was a little unsteady because of it. A bit of muscle soreness was definitely worth it though, she thought, images of hot skin and hard muscle flashing through her mind. _Definitely_ worth it.

Heading to her console, she looked at the read-outs. It was purely out of habit; as she had told Shepard earlier, the Normandy's engines were running smoothly with the three competent engineers who were always on watch.

Tali looked over to where the aforementioned engineers stood, noting that one was missing. "Where's Gabby, Ken?" she asked.

"Oh, she's got a wee bit of morning sickness, so she's in the med-bay with Chakwas trying to cure it."

"Morning sickness?"

"Aye. Pregnant women get it. Well, human women, anyway. And I ken it isna morning but well, what can you do?"

His accent made it sound like he'd just said his name in the middle of a sentence, but before she could ask, her console made a horrible mechanical whine, the kind that usually sent people into a panic, and it suddenly became dark.

She blinked, trying to see in the total darkness of the engineering room. Even the emergency lights were off.

"Keelah, what happened?"

Adams spoke up from somewhere to her right. "No clue. I can't even pull up my omni-tool and the drive core looks like it shut off."

"This isn't good," Tali said, worried.

She felt her way across the room with a hand on the safety rail, trying to find a panel where she could get the lights back on. Of course, she had no idea how she'd *see* anything inside the panel, as she couldn't even use her omni-tool for light.

As she shuffled across the room, the emergency lights started to flicker on and she heard the Normandy re-booting itself, back-up systems in overdrive.

"At least we didn't go totally dark." Adams said, sounding relieved.

"Aye, the gravity seems to still work, and my console is powering up." Ken remarked.

Slowly, the ship started to come back on. Lights turned on, consoles beeped, energy thrummed. Then Tali heard a beautiful sound; the drive core powering up.

Tali walked over to one of the doors leading to the main hallway of Deck 4. There wasn't a light in the centre of it, meaning it was completely offline. Damn. She wanted go down to the sub deck, which was where the cooling systems for the Normandy were housed, and see if they were working. Even if the drive core was online, if the ship started to fly and the cooling systems didn't work, they'd be cooked.

"Adams, Donnelly. Come help me open this." she called over.

The two men walked over, staring at the door. Ken spoke up.

"How the hell are we goin' to get that open?"

"Do we have anything we could use as a lever to force the doors apart? And why the hell don't these stupid things work without power? Whose bright idea was that?" Adams said, frowning.

Tali smiled. Adams rarely complained about anything and hearing him do so now was pretty funny.

"Tali!"

She jumped, hearing Joker's voice on the overhead comms. "Keelah, Joker. You scared me."

"What the heck is going on? Why did the Normandy just black out?" The pilot questioned, sounding affronted at the thought of anything going wrong with "his" ship.

"If I knew that I'd be fixing it already. And if you can get the comms to work, can you open the engineering doors? We're stuck in here."

Before she even finished her sentence, the door's console glowed green and opened.

"Thanks Joker. We're out."

"Whatever. Just go fix everything before someone finds us floating in space and decides to shoot at us." she heard the pilot say, and she smiled again. Joker didn't like when something went wrong with the ship.

* * *

Every one of the Normandy's crew had gathered in the mess hall per Shepard's instructions. Even Kaiden, who was sitting quietly at the back with his head down, rubbing at his temples. _Poor bastard_.

All present, the Commander stood up in front of the people all sitting at the table and spoke up.

"Okay, Miranda says that the blackout was caused by the data from the Cerberus attacker. Sent out an EMP of some kind. It re-booted our systems, oddly enough, but all the numbers in the ship are off. Or so I'm told," Shepard added, looking to Tali for conformation, who nodded.

"How long will it take for you guys to get the Normandy in shape again?"

Tali shrugged. "I'm not completely sure, but if everything in the ship is off, it'll take a couple of days before we should start doing anything too extreme, liking blowing up Cerberus."

He laughed. "Alright. So, seeing as how everything in the Normandy is awry, I'm going to head down to Tuchanka to talk to Wrex while you guys start to patch this place up. Kill two birds with one stone and all that."

"Alone? On Tuchanka? Are you sure that's a good idea, John?" Tali asked, looking concerned.

"I won't be long, and I'll be with Wrex. Anyone stupid enough to attack him will get a boot in the ass."

"I don't care about anyone attacking Wrex. I'm worried about you!"

He smiled. "You do realise that I'm a grown man who can take care of himself, right? Besides, it sounds like the krogan will be a lot more welcoming after we helped cure the Genophage."

"Yes, but I also know that you attract trouble wherever you go. You could sit in a closet and find trouble in there. At least take Garrus with you."

He laughed. "Garrus needs to stay here to help re-calibrate the crap out of the main guns. I'll be fine, Tali. I'll even take a pistol."

"Because a pistol will stop a krogan. Stupid, stubborn..." he heard mutter under her breath, not catching the last part.

Kasumi apparently heard her as well, as he saw her snickering next to Tali.

"Alright people, back to work. The sooner this place is back in shape the sooner we can go kill Cerberus."

Most dispersed, the exceptions being Tali, Aisha and Kaiden, the latter of which was still sitting there rubbing his forehead. Chakwas patted his shoulder in sympathy as she walked by him on her way to the med-bay, having nothing to treat his headache but a prescription of sleep and a dark room.

Shepard walked over to him, speaking quietly. "You okay?"

Kaiden attempted to look at him, but as the light hit his eyes he swung his head back down, covering his eyes with his hands. "Yeah, it'll pass soon. I just gotta sit some place quiet for a bit."

"Go back to your quarters Kaiden. You aren't doing yourself any favours by staying out here."

The man grunted in affirmation, getting up slowly to walk back to his quarters, head canted down to avoid the bright lights.

Tali made a sympathetic sound as his door closed. "I feel so bad for him. Those headaches seem awful."

Aisha spoke up. "He quite lucky, actually. Most L2's suffer from dementia or crippling pain. Occasional headaches are light punishment compared to others."

Tali turned on her heel to look at Toure, indignant. "He isn't lucky! The Alliance should have just left him alone instead of putting an amp into his head! They had no right to do that!"

Aisha's mouth tightened slightly and her golden eyes narrowed, the first hint of anger Shepard had seen from her.

"The Alliance needed to further biotic technology. Without it, many human biotics would not wield the power and control they do today. Even your husband's abilities would be stunted." She added, gesturing to the Commander.

"They should have found another way! It was cruel and barbaric what they did to those children, keeping them locked up in special schools and 'encouraging' them to use their abilities!"

"Yet your people's actions against the geth, suddenly attacking them as soon as they started showing sentient traits, was not cruel and barbaric? That it was _unjustified_ for your people to spend three hundred years in the stars for the terrible crimes the quarians committed? Before you go blaming the Alliance for being cruel, look within your own community."

Tali's eyes widened and she began to shake with rage, looking as if she was about to take a step forward.

"ENOUGH!" Shepard yelled, swinging towards Toure. "You've said too much, Aisha. Go take a breather. Now." his tone was hardened steel, brooking no argument.

Aisha looked at him, her gold gaze cold and angry, and for a moment Shepard thought that she'd actually say something.

"Very well." She turned suddenly, dark braids swinging as she headed to the lounge.

Now alone with his wife, he turned to her.

"Tali-"

She waved a hand. "Don't. Let's just get this Cerberus hunt over and done with. That way she'll leave."

"Will you be okay if I leave to go to Tuchanka?"

"As long as she doesn't come down to Engineering, I'll be fine." She said, turning towards the lift.

He put a hand on her shoulder, stopping her. "I'm sorry she said that. She shouldn't have."

She smiled at him, placing her hand atop his. "It's not your fault, but thank you. I'll cooperate with her, Shepard. This mission is bigger than to let petty racism get in the way."

He pulled her close, kissing her. "I'm glad you're being the bigger person. I'm off to Tuchanka now, so I'll see you in a bit."

"I love you." She said, smiling at him.

"And I you."


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: krogan babies are awesome.

Also, I just want to say thanks to TW6464 for all their comments and reviews on this story so far.

* * *

**Chapter 9: The Palace**

Shepard stepped out of the shuttle he'd flown to the planet and into the fierce heat, making him glad that he wore only a white t-shirt and crewman cargos instead of full combat armour. And, as he had promised Tali, a pistol was at his hip. Even had she not spoken up about it, he still would've made sure he had it. Although Shepard knew he'd be greeted with respect from the krogan, it did well to be cautious.

He took note of his surroundings. Although he had landed on rubble, the building before him looked newly built.

It was massive; a deep, ruddy brown was the colour of the brick that made up the walls, which shaped the building in a sort of odd, tiered pyramid. It reminded him of ancient Earth civilisations he'd learned about in school. It was oddly beautiful, in a way. And it was built to last an eternity.

It was a symbol of power and perseverance; two ideals the krogan had lived by for millennia.

He could see others like it being built nearby, some finished and many more still under construction, krogan standing on scaffoldings, placing stone and shouting orders to each other. Yet none stood as tall or as wide as the palace in front of him.

As he walked up, he saw with surprise that there were gardens filled with shrubs and other odd flora lining the pathway leading up to the pyramid-like castle.

At its grand entrance, a door that was trapezoidal in shape, stood an Urdnot scout, obviously waiting for Shepard.

Shepard moved towards the massive scout, nodding to him in greeting.

"Shepard. Urdnot Wrex is waiting for you." The krogan said simply, gesturing for him to walk past.

Stepping inside the building, Shepard felt his jaw drop.

The building was like a hollowed out pyramid, its tapered ceiling so high that he couldn't see where it ended, hidden

in shadow. On each of its leaning four walls were massive windows, giving enough sunlight that nothing artificial was needed to illuminate the space. Columns rose up to support the tilted walls, massive in width and height. This is what ancient krogan architecture looked like.

Krogan were gathered all around the hall. Some stood talking in small groups around what appeared to be kegs of ryncol, others sat in massive chairs, speaking loudly.

A wide pathway starting at the entrance led to the very back of the giant room, which centred on the back wall stood a dais. It had curved, stone stairs leading up to the top, upon which stood a throne. A throne occupied by Wrex.

"Shepard! My brother!" Wrex boomed, noticing his arrival, and lumbered down the stairs. The other krogan present turned to look at their leader as he walked down the steps to greet his friend.

Shepard quickened his pace, walking down the centre of the chamber to meet up with Wrex.

They met at the base of the steps, Wrex taking Shepard into a back-slapping bear hug.

"Wrex." He forced out, trying, and failing, to breathe under the crushing weight of the hug.

Wrex stepped back, giving the Commander a once-over. "Good to see you, my friend."

Shepard laughed, relieved that he was able to breathe again. "Same to you, Wrex."

"Commander. A pleasure to have you."

Shepard looked up. Standing on the steps a little above Wrex was Urdnot Bakara.

He smiled. "And good to see you Bakara. I trust you're in better health than the last time we spoke?" She had still been suffering from the effects of Maelon's research when he'd last visited Tuchanka, which had been years ago.

She smiled back at him. "Much better. Why don't we sit down instead of standing here?"

Following her suggestion, the three moved through the massive hall into a room left of the central chamber. A room that held a number of chairs around what was probably a coffee table, but the dark metal table was about the size of his bed. He noted that the chairs were almost as big as a human love seat.

Before he could make any other observations, he was swept right off his feet and for the second time in as many minutes had the breath crushed out of him. "Battlemaster!"

Shepard couldn't even manage a reply as he was crushed in Grunt's tree-trunk arms, feeling his ribs creak with the strain.

Grunt released him and he would have fallen had Bakara not grabbed his shoulder to steady him.

He rubbed at his sides and groaned. "Hi... Grunt. Good to... see you."

Grunt laughed, slapping him on the back and threatening to send him falling again. "Heh heh. Good to see you're still alive, Shepard."

They moved to the furniture and Shepard took a seat gratefully, having no desire to be picked up again.

Wrex grinned at him. "You look like a pup sitting in that chair, Shepard."

He gave the krogan a dark look. "Anyone would look tiny sitting in chairs built for your fat ass."

Grunt bellowed his laughter and Bakara's pealed through the room. Shepard also heard laughter behind him. "Hah! You shoulda brought this human to Tuchanka years ago! I like him!"

The gravelly voice he heard sounded young, and Shepard turned in his chair to see three young krogan standing behind him. The first two were about Tali's height but three times her girth. The third was quite small, about the height of a human child, but again much broader.

Bakara made a gesture with her hand and the small one ran over to her. The woman spoke to her in soft tones as the child hid in her robes.

"He was here a couple of years ago but you weren't even born yet, pup." Wrex replied, bringing Shepard's attention back to the other krogan.

Shepard stood up, turning to introduce himself. "Shepard. And you are?"

The one that had spoken before stepped up to give him a rough hand shake. "Urdnot Bautor."

"And I am Urdnot Masod." the slightly smaller one said, shaking his hand as well.

"These two idiots are mine, Shepard." Wrex spoke up. "Along with that little one." he gestured to where his mate sat.

The small krogan in Bakara's lap looked up, noticing that someone was looking at her.

"Who're you?" the voice coming out of the child pegged her as female, her tone feminine even in youth.

He smiled at her. "My name's Shepard; I'm a friend of your father's. And who are you?"

The child hid back into Bakara's robes for a moment, shy at being addressed directly by a strange alien, but mustered her courage and slipped from her mother's lap, walking over to him in the odd gait the krogan seemed to have. Her head was covered in a small dark hood, bright red eyes shining beneath it. She wore robes that were similar to her mother's, but much more simple in both style and decoration. Shepard could see the small bumpy ridges on her forehead peaking out from her hood, looking much the same as Grunt's unformed plates, except that hers were a dark crimson, not rocky grey.

She stood in front of him and thrust out a tiny, three-fingered hand. "Urdnot Mordin." she said proudly.

Shepard laughed softly and shook her hand, his big one consuming her tiny paw.

"A pleasure to meet you, Mordin."

She beamed at him, a toothy grin.

"I told you I'd only give Mordin's name to a girl." Wrex grinned, and Bakara rolled her eyes.

"Don't give my name to anyone! It's _mine_!" The little girl squeaked and turned to Wrex, misinterpreting her father's words.

Shepard chuckled. "He was talking about the person you're named after."

Little Mordin turned back to him, frowning. "And who is that?"

Shepard had to handle this carefully. The little girl might take offense if he simply said that she was named after a male salarian scientist. He leaned in, whispering to her, making it seem like he was about to reveal a big secret. "A very famous doctor who cured the Genophage."

Her eyes widened into big red orbs. "Really?" she whispered back.

"Really."

"I like you." She said, and without warning climbed up and sat on his lap.

He started to laugh, which turned into a grunt when he felt her weight on his leg. Krogan kids were heavy. "Well I like you too."

"That's good." she replied, leaning back into him. Shepard put an arm around her to keep her balanced on his knee. As much as he appreciated being in the good books of krogan children, she was resting on the knee that Miranda had had to replace with a metal plate when they had recovered him from the Citadel just after the Reapers were defeated. The injury had limited his movement for a couple of years, but now it was mostly cleared up. Still, he sometimes felt pain shoot up his knee every now and then. Like right now.

She squirmed in his lap, attempting to get more comfortable, and he felt her small, stumpy tail dig into his thigh.

_If she moves any closer I'm going to become a eunuch. Tali won't be happy about that_. he thought, the spiky tail dangerously close to his crotch.

Wrex boomed with laughter. "Would you look at that. Mordin likes you. You seem to make friends with someone every time you come to Tuchanka. Next thing you know you'll be getting breeding requests and be crowned a warlord."

Shepard wrinkled his nose, laughing. "Maybe I shoulda brought Tali to defend me from any possible suitors."

"Hey, where is my favourite quarian, anyway? Or that smelly old turian you always hang around with?" Wrex asked.

"Long story, but the short version is the Normandy's systems went all out of whack before we got here and they had to stay aboard to help repair."

"And no kids of your own, Shepard? The way you and Tali kept looking at each other at the wedding I'd have thought you'd have a dozen by now." Wrex asked. He was joking, of course; he knew that with the exception of asari, interspecies children were impossible.

A look of pain flashed across Shepard's features. He hid it quickly but it did not go unnoticed. "No."

His source of pain stemmed from Tali. He had seen her longing gaze fall on quarian children walking past whenever they had gone into the city near their home, and impotent rage always boiled inside of him when it happened. He loved her to death, but could not give her one of her own. Would not be able to watch her belly swell and grow with his child or see her look of wonder as she felt their son or daughter move within her.

Bakara looked at him with kind eyes. "You're trials are well understood here, Commander; no species knows what it feels like to go without children better than the krogan."

He smiled at her sadly. "I don't doubt it. And we could always adopt. We've spoken about it before and even had some serious conversations before Cerberus attacked our home."

"Okay, could someone tell me what the hell you're talking about? Adopting kids? Cerberus? Smelly turians?" Masod said, sounding horribly confused.

Shepard looked at Wrex. "How much did you tell them?"

Wrex chuckled. "A bit. Mostly about battles though."

Shepard looked over at Masod. "How much do you wanna know?"

The kid's eyes shone. "Everything."

Shepard sighed, settling into his chair, little Mordin in his lap. This was going to take a while.

* * *

After recounting his adventures with Wrex to Masod and Bautor and getting them up to speed on his relationships with aliens as well as Cerberus, Shepard stretched in his chair as much as possible with a krogan child sitting on him. Little Mordin had fallen asleep on his lap and was snoring softly, settled back against his chest. His leg had lost all feeling an hour ago.

During his re-telling of the past, Bautor, Masod and Grunt had all asked hundreds of questions about the battles they'd fought, fascinated with the gory details.

At first Shepard had been reluctant to say anything too macabre, not wanting to scare young Mordin, but Wrex didn't seem to care that his daughter was present and filled in the details when Shepard didn't speak up. It seemed to be another tidbit of krogan culture that Shepard filed away for future reference. Krogan told their children about battles and fights to prepare them, be they male or female, seeing it as helpful rather than harmful to their children's psyche.

There was a lull in conversation as they had finally run out of stories to tell about the battles Shepard and Wrex had fought together. Wrex broke the silence.

"Shepard," he began, looking at the Commander. "I know you didn't just come here for a social visit."

Shepard nodded. "I was intending to have a visit with you, but it wasn't my main goal, no. I need to speak with you about Cerberus."

Wrex nodded, standing up. "Come on."

Shepard tried to lift Mordin from his lap, grunting. "Jesus, she's heavy."

Bakara smiled, walking over to him and picking up the child slumbering on his legs.

"Thanks." he said, using the armrest to steady himself as he got up, groaning and rubbing at his knee, trying to work back some of the blood into his leg.

"Bones getting creaky, old man?" Wrex said, grinning at him.

"If anyone should be called an old man it's you." Shepard replied, returning his friend's expression.

"It was good to talk to you again, Bakara. And to meet the two of you." he added, looking at Wrex's sons. He would've said something to Mordin, but she was still sound asleep, now in her mother's arms.

"Always a pleasure, Commander. If war with Cerberus shall ever break out again, know that we'll stand at you're side." Bakara said to him, smiling.

"Well, I hope it doesn't come to that. But thank you all the same." he said, smiling back.

"See you, Shepard. Good to finally meet the alien my father's always talking about." Masod spoke up, with Bautor nodding in agreement.

He and Wrex walked out, back into the central chamber. They headed down the great pathway leading to the door and stepped outside.

"Where are we going?" Shepard asked.

"Somewhere we'll not be heard." Wrex said cryptically.

They veered off of the paved pathway, rubble and gravel crunching underfoot as they walked away from the great pyramid.

Wrex judging it sufficient distance from his palace, he lead Shepard with a hand on his shoulder to stand under a giant piece of broken concrete, hiding them from the fierce sun. Even though the krogan had begun to rebuild, they needed to clear away all the ruin and rubble from past cities, which took a very long time.

He heard tomkahs and other such vehicles rumbling in the distance, probably carrying supplies and workers back and forth.

"Why'd you lead me out here, Wrex?" Shepard asked.

"I've got traitors in my ranks, but I haven't found out who they are yet. I have to watch what I say or Cerberus'll find out." Wrex growled, a dangerous look on his face. "If you wanna talk to me about taking them down I don't want them listening in."

"Cerberus? How the hell would they find out anything on Tuchanka?"

"The rebel clans, the ones who won't unite under my banner, have banded together under Clan Ustanok. They spew crap about 'preserving the Old Ways' but that won't get us back into galactic society. We need to change to become a respected race again. Anyway, I've heard reports from my scouts on our borders saying that Ustanok are getting help from Cerberus to gain strength. And if they're cooperating with those freaks and one is hiding amoung the Urdnot then that might explain why we've been raided for supplies before the trucks even make it back here."

"That doesn't make any sense, Wrex. If they don't want to be part of the galactic community, why ask part of that community for aid?"

Wrex shrugged. "I can't blame them. Their lands are small, and they don't have a lot of resources. I've been trying to keep enough of those resources away from them to either absorb them into Urdnot or make them weak enough to destroy. But with Cerberus' help that'll change."

"Which is why I've come to speak with you. Urdnot Sajuk, the krogan Councilor on the Citadel, told me to come talk with you. Ask you what you know."

"You know it would've been a hell of a lot easier to just talk with me over the QEC?"

Shepard chuckled. "I was hoping to be able to have a visit with you and Grunt and Bakara before going into any grim conversations about Cerberus. It's been too long since I last saw you and the others, which is my own damn fault; I've been busy being lazy with Tali on Rannoch when I should have been keeping in touch with everyone."

Wrex opened his mouth to answer, but stopped short, seeming to look much more alert than he had a moment ago. Shepard felt a tingle up his spine, a sensation of being watched, suddenly feeling cold despite the intense heat. He realised that he could no longer hear the tomkahs driving across terrain, as if they had quieted for them, the better to hear a threat coming. He looked around, eyes sharp for a threat. Wrex pulled the shotgun from his back and Shepard drew his pistol.

They waited in a tense silence for several long minutes, holding their breaths and standing still, heads swivelling to look for danger.

Nothing.

Wrex relaxed slightly, shotgun still in his grip. "Let's head back. We'll find somewhere else to talk."

Shepard nodded, walking out from under the rubble they had taken shelter in.

A barrel of a large gun pressed into his ear, the metal warm on his skin. He froze.

"Don't move."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Aralakh**

Shepard brought his elbow up, smashing the gun away from his ear and landing a punch with his other hand right into the krogan who'd been threatening him a second ago.

More krogan had come out of hiding, one trying to get behind Wrex, but his friend would have none of it, turning and slamming a biotically-enhanced fist into the attacker.

The krogan Shepard had hit had actually staggered slightly from the punch he'd administered, giving the Commander enough time to launch a biotic assault of his own, throwing his attacker back against the concrete wall.

He sensed another behind him, but before he could react, white-hot pain shot up his spine, ending at the base of his skull.

He gave a pained yell as he collapsed to the ground, strength leaving his muscles. The one he'd hit shoved away from the wall. "Don't move, Wrex." the krogan said, echoing his earlier words. "One step and we blast Shepard."

Lying in the hot sand, Shepard saw a shotgun levelled at his face. He turned his head to see four krogan around Wrex, all holding him captive.

One opened their omni-tool, pointing it at his friend. Wrex howled as something coursed through him, shuddering, but he managed to stay on his feet.

"Either of you try any of that biotic crap and you're in for one hell of a headache." The one with the shotgun said, a sadistic grin on his craggy features.

Wrex growled. "What do you want, Ustanok?"

The shotgun-wielding krogan, the one who seemed to be the leader of this small group, grinned wider. "For you and your human friend to get into the tomkah." He said, gesturing past the concrete to the parked truck. The truck Shepard had heard earlier and assumed it to be a worker's vehicle.

His mind was a little fuzzy, a dull throb insistent near the back of his head.

The leader leaned down and hauled him to his feet with a rough hand on his arm, bodily picking him to make him stand, which Shepard did so unsteadily.

Wrex growled again. "How'd you get past our borders? And how the hell did you make it this far without being noticed?"

The leader ignored him, simply saying "Start walking," as he gestured to the tomkah again. He pressed the barrel of his shotgun into the back of Shepard's head with one hand, other still having a death grip on the human's arm. "Now."

* * *

Shepard and Wrex sat in the cramped space inside the truck in a small compartment blocked off by thick bars from the rest of the vehicle, making sure they weren't able to attempt escape by attacking anyone.

Shepard rubbed a palm on the base of his skull, trying to lessen the throbbing in his head to no avail.

Wrex was completely silent, staring at the wall opposite him, looking to be in deep thought.

Shepard didn't really want to talk, anyway. The less noise there was, the less his head hurt.

He could hear the krogan at the front of the truck talking quietly. Well, quietly for krogan.

"Warlord Graad said to be careful. Says the human is as tough as any krogan, but he seems pretty weak." one said, looking back at Shepard.

Another laughed. "He said that Wrex was tough, too. But one point of a gun at some squishy alien and he follows orders like a trained varren."

Wrex didn't appear to have noticed the conversation going on, still staring at the wall of the tomkah.

"Still, we've gotta follow Graad's instructions on how to deal with these two or we'll be gutted." the first one said, frowning. "Don't much look forward to walking through the desert though."

"Who cares? We've gotta give Graad enough time to assemble the clans to watch the execution happen. If we drive the whole way we'll get there too quick and then we'll have to keep these two locked up somewhere and make sure they stay alive. Our food supplies are short enough already and I don't even know what humans eat." the other said, sounding annoyed.

"Can't we just drive slow?"

"Are you complaining, weakling?"

The first one bristled. "Of course not. But what if the human dies while we're walking?"

"If the human looks like he's gonna die we just give him some water and wait till he can stand again." the other said, shrugging.

Shepard didn't like what he was hearing. He thought about why they _couldn't_ just drive slowly, and wondered if the krogan were making them walk simply to watch Shepard suffer in the heat.

His thoughts were interrupted as a jolt went through the truck, and it stopped suddenly. The movement wasn't helping with his headache.

The krogan in the tomkah all turned to look at them, wearing horrible grins on their ugly faces. His thoughts of their possible sadism were confirmed with the next sentence.

"Let's see how you can handle Tuchanka's wastelands, human."

* * *

Heat. And water.

Those two things consumed Shepard's mind as he walked on.

He was walking beside Wrex, who still hadn't said a word since they'd been forced into the tomkah.

He'd taken his shirt off, which now hung limply attached to his belt. Shepard could feel his skin burning as the heat of Tuchanka's fierce sun beamed down on them.

The six krogan who'd attacked them were walking with them as well; their leader in the front, two on either side of the prisoners, and two at the rear, all wielding weapons. They had started out close together, but had drifted somewhat apart as the heat soaked into everyone's bones, making them walk apart from one another in an attempt to stay as cool as possible, not wanting to feel the heat coming off each other's skin. Now they moved forward in a loose group.

They also hadn't bothered to put any sort of handcuffs or other such deterrents on either Shepard or Wrex, not having a need for them; there was no where to run in the wastelands.

Shepard stumbled, his foot catching on a sharp rock. Wrex's hand shot out to grab his shoulder, steadying his friend.

Shepard gave him a grateful look but didn't say anything. He would not waste his energy, even such a tiny amount as talking.

His thoughts drifted as they walked on, sun beating mercilessly down on them. His eyes kept wandering back to the water canteen swinging on one of the krogan's hips a little ahead of him, and wondered how easy it would be to kill him and take it from him.

His thoughts had turned more primal as they had begun to walk, the horrible thirst burning in his throat turning on his baser instincts. Kill. Take. Survive.

The intensity of these thoughts would've surprised Shepard had he not experienced them before. A born soldier, his life of war and violence had called for such instincts to flare. Adrenaline rushes in battle had made his thoughts succinct and precise, thought patterns that were more animal than man.

He was pulled from his primal musings when he felt his knee start to throb. He had trained with Aisha yesterday, then spent the remainder of the day in bed with Tali, which always used up a lot of energy-

Tali.

He sent out a silent thank you to whatever god might deign to listen him that she was back safe on the Normandy instead of down here in this blistering hell with him. She was tough, but he knew she'd not make it the whole way. He wasn't even sure if he was going to.

As if reading his thoughts, an Ustanok scout spoke up. "There's a bit of shade over there," he said, pointing to pieces of twisted metal and concrete sticking out of the ground like broken bones, which formed a sort of haphazard shelter. "Why don't we stop for a minute? The human doesn't look so good." The krogan added, shooting a horrible grin at Shepard.

The leader, Saudd as Shepard had learned his name was, nodded in affirmation and gestured for the group to sit under the shade.

Walking to the shelter, Shepard lowered himself down onto the rocky sand with a hand on the metal, which was uncomfortably hot under his palm. He hissed in pain as his knee burned when his weight was suddenly taken off of it.

Now sitting, good leg stretched out and bad one bent as he leaned against the concrete, he grabbed his shirt from the place on his belt, wiping the sweat from his face.

He could feel the skin of his upper body tightening across his frame, heat from the sun burning and cracking his flesh. His movements, however slight, caused a slow burning to move across his skin. Shepard's head pounded, his muscles ached and his throat was raw from thirst and the wickedly dry, arid climate. Exhaustion already started to dull his senses and his lungs didn't seem to be taking in enough oxygen, and they were only half way there. With the days on Tuchanka being close to that of Earth's, it's twenty-one hours compared to Earth's twenty-four, Shepard judged by the sun's movements across the sky that they'd been walking for about four hours. He leaned his head back on the hard surface of the concrete, closing his eyes. Only three to go, her thought, having overheard the krogan talking about their ETA to Ustanok territory.

He heard movement next to him but didn't bother to see who it was.

"Shepard."

"Wrex." he replied, recognising his friend's voice. He felt something press into his hand and looked down to see Wrex handing him a canteen. Water.

His eyes took on a feral light as he reached for the cap and upended it into his mouth.

The water tasted stale and warm, but he didn't care. His throat worked as he drank, choking suddenly as the water trickles into his windpipe.

Sputtering, he held the canteen away from his mouth and Wrex took it back. "Easy, Shepard. Don't drink it all; we've still got a long walk."

"I know." he rasped, his breathing calming down as he worked the water from his throat. "But I'm not as tough as you krogan. No handy hump on my back to store water."

Wrex chuckled softly. "I know, that's why I gave you this. It's for you, actually; us tough krogan don't need it, so the Ustanok packed it for a squishy alien like you."

Shepard gave a tired laugh, head leaning back against the wall. "How considerate. Keep me nice and hydrated before we're executed."

Wrex leaned closer to him, and he could feel the heat his armour had absorbed from the sun emanating from him. "I hope you've got one of your crazy plans for getting us out of this, Shepard, 'cuz I got nothing."

"Sorry Wrex. I've been focused on not falling on my face."

"Human." Saudd walked up to them, interrupting their conversation. "You look horrible."

"Better looking than you."

He heard the other Ustanok krogan howl with laughter, Wrex joining them.

Saudd's reptilian features snarled at Shepard. "Watch your mouth, alien. Graad may want you alive for a formal execution but that doesn't mean I can't make you wish for death."

"I've already died before. Believe me, it's not all that great."

Wrex chuckled beside him. "Remember who you're talking to, Saudd. Death threats mean little to a man that's survived it."

Saudd growled low in his throat, but lumbered away without saying anything. A mistake, Shepard realised. His men had just watched prisoners back-talk their leader when he'd gone to check what state they were in and no punishment was given besides a half-empty threat. Their faith, as well as respect, in their leader would start to loosen its hold on their minds, something Shepard might be able to exploit if he ever figured out a plan to get him and Wrex out of this.

"So, you guys have gotten some fancy new tech while I was gone." Shepard said to Wrex.

"No, we haven't. Whatever they used to dampen our biotic implants was not krogan-made; krogan don't use anything that only weakens our foe instead of outright killing them. No, that must be something they got from Cerberus." Wrex growled, looking angry.

"Come on," Saudd said to the group, interrupting their conversation yet again. "We've wasted enough time sitting here and the human doesn't look like he's gonna die so let's start moving."

Wrex stood up, then turned to offer a hand to Shepard. He took it, standing painfully and slowly, letting out a hiss of pain through clenched teeth as his knee screamed at him to sit back down. The effort it took just to rise cost him more energy than he cared to admit, but he forged on, back into the blazing heat of Aralakh to march towards his death.

* * *

Tali glanced at her omni-tool's clock for the fifth time in the span of a minute, seeing the time still unchanged. She was standing in Engineering, trying to re-align all the readouts and scans of the drive-core that had been skewed by the Cerberus EMP, terribly worried about Shepard.

It had been six hours since he'd landed on Tuchanka, and still no word from him. She knew he'd probably spend time socialising with Wrex and Grunt and Bakara, not having seen any of them for quite some time, but paranoia gnawed at her mind, insistent.

_You worry too much,_ she'd heard him say to her countless times, and she tried to calm herself. Shepard had simply lost track of time reminiscing about the Good Old Days with Wrex and talking about Cerberus with him. He wasn't being shot at or beaten or bleeding out on some floor waiting for help-

_Stop it!_ She shoved those horrible images from her mind, attempting to focus on the readouts displayed on her console instead of thoughts of John being hurt or killed.

He would be fine.

* * *

Night had finally settled in the wastelands, and Shepard was shaking, from a number of things; exhaustion, pain and cold. The heat quickly left the sand as the sun had gone down, making everything as cold as it was dark, and it was very dark indeed.

Shepard had put his shirt back on as they walked on, but that didn't help much, the cold seeping in through his clothes and settling into his bones, freezing him from the inside out.

The terrible sunburn he'd gotten wasn't helping matters much. It had seemed to leech all of the heat from his body, leaving his skin tight and aching whenever he moved. He was so exhausted that he no longer paid attention to anything but the pain in his leg and the cold, simply walking on, almost zombie-like. His muscles screamed a fiery plea for him to stop and rest, the base of his skull still put out a dull throb from the attack this morning, and hunger had entered the mix as well. An insistent ache in his stomach that crawled all the way up the back of his throat as they had traveled through the desert.

"We're here." he heard Saudd call out.

Shepard realised that they had stopped in front of a large stone wall, one with Ustanok scouts standing atop it and a heavy, barred door a little to their left.

They'd made it. Shepard's legs gave out and he was unconscious before he hit the ground.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: A Challenge is Made**

Hard. He was laying on something hard.

Shepard opened his eyes to a dim, sickly light illuminating the ceiling. He closed them again and rolled to the side, the light stabbing daggers into his head.

He hissed when he moved, his shirt rubbing against his burned skin. Laying on his side, he cautiously opened his eyes again. He saw a dark stone wall, dirt and other things that looked suspiciously like krogan blood staining its surface.

As consciousness began to take hold of his mind, he could feel every muscle in his body throbbing with a tired ache. His head had a horrible stabbing pain radiating throughout it from dehydration.

_Water_.

Oh, God, water. He thought he'd been thirsty before, but this was a whole new kind of Hell.

His mouth was gritty and dry, his throat on fire, and he felt lightheaded. Death didn't seem like such a bad fate at the moment.

He got his hands under him and attempted to push himself up, wanting to know where the hell he was. He almost fell when he felt the ache in his arms, but managed to at least sit up. He hadn't used his arms for anything rigorous all day and they hurt like hell. He wondered what his legs would feel like if he tried using them.

He took note of his surroundings, wrinkling his nose as he smelled sweat and stale bodies in the air. He had been laying on a dirt-encrusted concrete floor, which had three walls made up of floor-to-ceiling metal bars so thick he probably couldn't rap his whole hand around one, lining its perimeter.

"Shepard!" he heard a loud whisper next him in, and looking over he saw Wrex standing there, looking at him through thick bars in a cell next to his. "You're alive! Good. When you fell over just outside the Ustanok borders I thought you were dead."

"If only I were so lucky," he rasped, dry lips cracking as he spoke. "Where are we?" it was sort of a stupid question, but his mind was still fuzzy.

"Some jail. We got here a little early so they threw us in here."

"See! I told you he wasn't dead!" he heard someone shout.

Two krogan came into view through the bars in front of him. Saudd and one of the scouts who'd attacked them earlier.

"See, moving and everything. Maybe he's tougher than we thought." the scout said.

"Good. Go tell Warlord Graad that the human is alive." Saudd replied, not looking at the scout, who nodded and lumbered off.

Saudd smiled at him, teeth shown from peeled-back lips. It wasn't a pleasant sight.

"You two will be dead in an hour." He said, sounding smug. "Then Ustanok will retake Tuchanka and show the galaxy what happens when you sterilise the krogan."

He saw Wrex shake his head. "Idiot. Violence won't get us anywhere."

Saudd laughed. "You've gone soft, Wrex. Peace doesn't work. The krogan have been _peaceful_ since those turians deployed the Genophage on us and look at what happened. We got nowhere with those snivelling little politicians on the Citadel. No, the time for violence is now. Here, human," Saudd threw something at him trough the bars, turning his attention back to Shepard. "Drink this. Graad wants you strong enough to stand and this is all we've got."

A canteen slid to Shepard's feet as Saudd walked away. He picked it up, unscrewed the cap, and drank.

It wasn't water. It tasted somewhat like an energy drink, but he didn't particularly care.

Emptying the bottle to the last drop, he dropped the canteen and wiped his mouth. It wasn't enough to stop the burning in his throat, but it was something.

He noticed it, then.

The subtle shifting in his bones that told him that the cybernetics in his body had started the process of regeneration, knitting his torn, exhausted muscles slowly back together.

After his resurrection, he'd felt this process start up inside of him many times. The cybernetics not only improved strength and endurance, but increased the rate of mitosis inside of his body, allowing him to recover at a more rapid rate than any other human. He realised that they'd been in over-drive since the walk through the desert had become painful for Shepard, but he'd been so consumed with his thoughts that he hadn't noticed it.

This hardly meant that he could jump up and go beat the crap out of the krogan guarding the jail, however, but it at least guaranteed that he'd be able to stand while he was executed. *How helpful.*

A thought suddenly came to him.

"Wait," he began to Wrex, "How long have I been out?"

He saw his friend shrug. "two hours, maybe? Why?"

"Tali's probably going insane right now." he said, amused. He hoped the Normandy crew would find them before his head was blown off.

* * *

"We have to go to Tuchanka! _Now!_" Tali yelled at Garrus, furious with his calm demeanour.

"He's probably just-"

"No, he isn't! It's been eight hours! _Eight hours_ since he left! The comms are down from that stupid EMP so we can't know for sure If he's alright unless we go down there and find out!"

Garrus was getting worried, as well. He'd been attempting to come Tali down, which of course had failed miserably, but he knew they'd have to go see what was up.

"We'll take a shuttle to Tuchanka and see what's going on down there. Then when we barge in on his tea party with Wrex you can explain to him why we're planet-side dressed in weapons and armour."

Quarians could look quite feral without their masks on, Garrus thought, seeing the expression on Tali's face.

"Let's... Go get in the shuttle." Garrus said, hastening to the elevator.

* * *

"Time to go, alien. You too, Urdnot." A krogan guard said, opening the doors to their cells and ushering them out. "And don't try any funny business, or I'll shoot you."

Something occurred to Shepard. It was so idiotically simple that he had to force himself not a slap a palm to his forehead, wondering why he hadn't thought of it sooner.

"No you won't." Shepard said.

The krogan looked at him, eyes bright with anger. "Wanna bet?" he said, levelling the barrel at him.

Shepard crossed his arms and met the krogan's stare, ignoring the tight burning of his skin as he moved. "I do, actually. This Graad wants us alive for a formal execution, so if you kill me or Wrex he'll probably be really pissed, won't he?"

The krogan shuffled slightly, looking nervous. He was afraid of Graad. Shepard smiled.

Before any other conversation could go on, Wrex slammed a fist into the guard, staggering him. Shepard grabbed the shotgun from the krogan and pointed it at him.

"Do as we say or you'll get a face full of shrapnel."

The krogan dropped his shoulder and charged at him, roaring.

The shotgun bucked in Shepard's grip as he fired, but the krogan seemed to completely ignore the flak imbedded into his skin, and Shepard was slammed against the bars, becoming even more lightheaded than he already was.

Guards heard the noise and ran in just in time to see Wrex take a charge of his own and ram into the other krogan, knocking him to the ground.

Guards grabbed a hold of Shepard before his feet even touched the ground, having been lodged into the bars by the other guard. Three were on him, one taking the shotgun from him and two forcing him to his knees, hands on his shoulders and arms.

Four guards had gotten a hold of Wrex while the others had been subduing Shepard. The both of them twisted and bucked in the guards' grip, trying in vain to get away.

"What is the meaning of this?" He heard a voice boom, then saw a massive krogan, bigger than even Wrex, walk in.

"Warlord Graad," one began, the one who had come to pick up Shepard and Wrex, face bloody from the shotgun blast. He didn't even seem to notice that it was there. "The prisoners thought they'd try to escape."

Graad grunted, walking over to Shepard.

"Bring him to his feet." he ordered.

He was hauled up, and was eye-to-eye with the warlord, who'd bent down slightly to inspect the Commander.

"You're tough Shepard, I'll give you that. But you're still not as tought as an Ustanok krogan."

"Well, smelling your breath I don't think I'd want to be one."

A hand went around his neck and lifted him clear off the ground, the guards releasing their hold on him.

"You dare mock me, alien? ANSWER ME!"

Shepard grabbed the massive krogan's arm and pulled up, giving himself a enough oxygen to speak.

"Fuck you."

Graad turned and slammed him into the bars. He noticed Wrex jerking his arms to try and free himself from the guards as the breath left his lungs.

"You need him alive, Graad." Wrex reminded him.

He dropped Shepard, who fell to the floor coughing, and turned to Wrex casually.

"Ha ha! You actually care for this alien, Wrex? It's good that I'll be taking over your throne; you've become too familiar with aliens to remember what being a krogan means."

"He's done more for this planet than you ever will."

That comment earned Wrex a punch to the stomach.

"Bring them. The execution will start now." Graad said, walking out the door.

Shepard was picked up again by the guards, and both him and Wrex were lead through the door Graad had just gone through.

It opened up onto a stadium of some sort. Torches atop giant pillars of stone ringing the stadium were lit, casting long shadows on the ground, night shrouding every surface not illuminated in a dark cloud. Krogan stood looking down on the scene from seats lining the colosseum. In the middle of the stone field stood two krogan, both with shotguns in hand. The executioners. Shepard's heart sped up, his brain fully realising where he was and what was about to happen. _How the hell am I gonna live through his?_

"You'll kill us at the Hollows, Graad?" Wrex demanded, outraged, taking note of their surroundings. "A ancient place of peace?"

"The time for peace is over! You two dying here will signal the end of the krogan repression! We'll charge the stars and destroy every alien who had a hand in the Genophage, and kill any that stand in our way!" Graad yelled, making sure everyone could here him.

The Ustanok crowd roared in approval. The guards holding Wrex shoved him to the centre of the stone field where the executioners stood.

"Wait!" Shepard yelled. He would not watch another of his friends die while he stood by helplessly. He'd already lost too many.

"What is it, human?" Graad asked, annoyed. "Do you wish to pray to your deaf gods first?"

"I offer a... a challenge." he said, groping for words.

"And what would that be, alien?" the warlord said, sounding amused.

"If I defeat you in combat, you let us go. Your men won't harm us."

"Shepard, what the hell are you doing?" Wrex said urgently.

Graad's laughter filled the night, along with the others who had heard Shepard.

"You hear that? The human challenges me to battle!" The crowd roared again, this time with laughter.

"Do you accept?" Shepard said, ignoring both Wrex and the laughing.

"Why would I do that?"

"Afraid I'll beat you?" Shepard countered, waiting.

The krogan's features turned angry.

"No, never. You'll be crushed under my power in seconds."

"Then let me fight you. Just agree to our terms; I beat you, you and your men let us leave."

Graad stood there, considering. "Why not?" he laughed. "It will be quite entertaining to kill you myself rather than watch an execution. Very well," he continued. "Guards, clear out of the battle grounds. I want no interruptions to this idiotic challenge."

The guards did so, hauling Wrex with them. "Shepard! You'll be killed!" he called.

"We were dead already, Wrex. This at least gives us a chance."

The guards were still hauling them away as they spoke. At the door to the cells, Wrex called out once more. "I ask to stand in Shepard's place!"

"No. The challenge has already been made by the human. The fight will begin." Graad said, and Shepard realised that Graad was a coward; he'd only make a bet with people he thought weaker than him, knowing that he would always win.

Shepard smiled as he turned back to Graad as the door closed on Wrex and the guards. The krogan underestimated him. And underestimation was a very powerful tool to the right people. Shepard was the right people. He was tired and his muscles ached, but he was still a soldier. He would still be able to put up a fight.

Graad tossed him something from across the stone field. A combat knife.

"Let us begin!" Graad roared, the crowd shouting their excitement as he charged at Shepard.

* * *

They landed right next to the shuttle Shepard had flown. Stepping out, it took a great deal of resistance on Tali's part to not run headlong into the triangular building they were headed to and demand to know where Shepard was.

She'd worn her helmet in case they got into a firefight and was glad she was able to turn up the heat in her suit, the night cycle of Tuchanka being a cold one.

Garrus had asked Kasumi and Miranda to join them. Even though Kaiden no longer had a migraine, Garrus didn't want to stress the biotic too hard if it came to a fight after just getting over his headache. The four of them headed to the building.

They walked into the front doors, but Tali didn't stand around looking at the architecture, instead walking towards the dais at the back of the massive hall, seeing Eve - Bakara, she corrected herself - standing at the top, speaking to Grunt in hushed tones.

"Urdnot Bakara! We wish to speak with you!" Garrus called out.

The krogan in the hall turned at his voice, looking at him and his company with distaste. Even after the krogan-turian alliance during the war, relations between the two races were still uneasy.

Bakara and Grunt looked at them from atop the dais, and both almost ran down the stairs to meet with them, urgency in every muscle. Tali's belly clenched, ice forming in a horrible ball in her stomach. Something was wrong.

"Come, we'll speak privately." Bakara said, she and Grunt ushering them into a small sitting room left of the central chamber.

Door closed, she turned to them. "Please tell me you know where Wrex and the Commander are."

Panic seized in Tali's chest. They weren't here, meaning they were in trouble. "We came to ask you that." she said.

Bakara's eyes held worry, and even a bit of panic, in them. "Shepard arrived this morning and we all spoke for some time. Then he and Wrex went off to talk about Cerberus in private."

"Do you know where?" Miranda asked.

"A scout saw them walk out of the hall onto the front pathway outside, but they veered off the path. That's all we know."

"Why go outside?"

Bakara gave a small smile. "Wrex has become paranoid. There seems to be a traitor in our ranks, telling Cerberus of locations of equipment to raid from us. He probably just wanted to make sure they were alone."

"What do we do?" Tali asked, trying to keep her voice steady. "They could be hurt or..." she trailed off, not wanting to finish her sentence.

"We looked everywhere." Grunt said. "Maybe those Ustanok wimps came and attacked them."

"How would they get past our borders? They're well guarded." Bakara said, thinking. "It's been hours since they left; they could be anywhere on Tuchanka."

"Ustanok?" Garrus asked.

Bakara nodded. "The rebel clan that won't unite under Urdnot's banner. They aren't happy with Wrex's plans for peace. They're numbers are small, but the tech they're gathering and hoarding suggests that they might be aiding Cerberus, and Cerberus them. The suspected traitor must be one of them."

"Tech?" Kasumi spoke up for the first time since they'd arrived. "What kind of tech?"

"Not the kind krogan have ever used. It's very advanced." Bakara said, frowning.

Kasumi pulled out her omni-tool and held it up.

"What are you doing?" Garrus asked.

"I'm looking for any comm frequencies that are similar to Cerberus'. So if we find any in the area, we know that Ustanok has been here and that probably means that Shepard and Wrex are with them."

After a moment, her omni-tool beeped and she brought it back down to look at it. Kasumi frowned. "Nothing. I wonder... Are they using offensive tech? They're not just defending their borders with it right?"

Bakara shrugged. "I don't know. We haven't taken any violent action against them, so I'm not sure. Why?"

"Because any tech weapon strong enough to hurt someone leaves static discharge. If a tech weapon is strong enough to hurt a _krogan_, then there might still be some discharge hanging around."

"Even if they had technological weapons, what makes you think they'd use them?" Garrus asked. "They could've just used guns."

"Then we'll look for shrapnel, won't we?"


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Alright, the plot ball has started to really roll. And you people aren't reviewing. Which you gotta do.

I really want to know what you think of the story. It's a wonderful feeling to go into my account and see that someone has taken the time to review, whether they're saying they liked the chapter or giving me constructive criticism, I love reading what you guys think about the story. It's very motivating.

If you think it's the worst thing you've ever read, then tell me. Constructively. If you keep your thoughts to yourself, then I don't learn anything, and just keep repeating my mistakes over and over.

If you think it's the best thing since sliced bread, then, again, tell me.

But don't just say "it's bad" or "I liked it" because that doesn't help me. Tell me _why_ you did or didn't like it. Sometimes a simple "good job!" is great, but on more complex and plotty chapters (like this one) your input is greatly appreciated.

Okay, I'm done rambling. On with the story! This one's a long chapter. It was supposed to be part of the previous chapter but the word count was ridiculous so I chopped it in half. Happy reading!

* * *

**Chapter 12: And How the Mighty Shall Fall**

Shepard ducked and rolled out of the way of a charging Graad, jumping up and away from him.

He was in seriously deep shit. He had killed krogan before, but that was in full combat gear, seventy pounds worth of weapons strapped to his armour, and back-up.

Now, he was sunburnt, tired, and lightheaded. Not to mention that all he wore were civvies and the only weapon at his disposal was a rusty combat knife. His earlier thoughts of him being able to still put up a fight seemed idiotic as Graad turned to charge him once more.

He rolled again, but Graad had anticipated his movements and clipped Shepard's shoulder as he sprung up, staggering him.

Graad grabbed a fistful of t-shirt and slammed him into one of the colosseum walls. And again, and again.

Shepard fought the black stain crawling at the edge of his vision, one that always signalled unconsciousness, and brought his feet up and smashed them into Graad's face. The cybernetics in his legs added enough power to make the krogan drop him and clutch at his nose.

He was distracted. Shepard jumped up, staggering slightly, and jammed the knife into the krogan's ear, tearing it down Graad's face.

He howled in pain and rage, swinging his arm back, taking Shepard full in the chest and knocking him to the ground.

The krogan turned to face him as he tried to scramble away, pushing on the ground with sore legs to propel him away from his attacker.

"You actually managed to make me bleed," Graad said, reptilian smile on his features, stepping forward. "This is more entertaining than I thought it would be."

Graad raised his leg and slammed it down onto the ground Shepard had been occupying a second ago, who'd tucked in his arms and rolled to the side. He pushed himself up and ran several feet, turning again to face Graad, who was stalking towards him.

His mind started to form a plan. He was too weak to launch a brute-force assault, which usually isn't a good idea even when you're well rested and in armour. Biotics were a no-go from that zap he'd gotten earlier, and a war of attrition and evasion was going to be difficult. The problem being that krogan were hard to wear down, and the adrenaline in Shepard's blood was the only thing keeping him standing.

He needed to end this quickly. And he knew how to do that.

Sort of.

Graad was only a couple of feet away from him. Shepard darted and rolled around him, careful to stay out of arm's reach. Graad turned with him, but krogan were slower than humans, and some of his back was still facing Shepard, who pushed off of the wall with his foot and jumped onto the krogan's back, his feet and hands finding purchase on Graad's armour.

He flipped the blade in his hand and buried it into the space between the krogan's skin and head crest, tugging upwards.

Graad was truly enraged now. He ran backwards and into the wall, but Shepard anticipated his movements. He rolled off of his back, which slammed into the wall a moment later, sprung into Graad, and shoved the knife into his eye.

The effect was almost nonexistent. Graad was in a blood rage now, and his nerves no longer responded to pain. He roared and turned to Shepard, picking him up by the neck and throwing him across the stone field.

Shepard landed heavily and felt ribs crack as he hit the ground, his head bouncing off the concrete. He must have lost consciousness for a moment, because the next thing he saw was Graad standing over him, blood running from the wounds at his ear, nose and crest, the knife still buried in his eye socket. Shepard tried to crawl away, but pain burned in his chest from broken ribs, his head was stabbing at him, and exhaustion was starting to override the adrenaline in his bloodstream.

"This has gone on long enough. You'll die now human, and it won't be painless."

Time seemed to slow down in that odd way that it does when adrenaline-spiked thoughts entered one's mind before death.

He was going to die. Which meant Wrex was also going to die. He wouldn't see Tali again. Wouldn't be able to finish those conversations about adopting a child. Would never see her smile or hear her voice.

And he was suddenly enraged. Truly furious. He'd fought his whole life, had become a soldier to wage war so that he might one day be able to live in peace. He'd tested his resolve, his strength, his *sanity* in war for a chance at happiness with her. And now he'd never know it. Wouldn't grow old with his wife or see his possible child grow up and become someone unique, forge their own path through life. He'd lost friends and family to war so that could happen.

An image of Tali crying on their bed, alone in an empty house on Rannoch, entered his mind. He knew she wouldn't be able to bear it, him dying. She had told him she couldn't live without him. She was strong - stronger and more fierce than anyone he'd ever known - but some things are not worth living through. Some things cannot leave your life without taking you as well.

He would not do that to her. She deserved so much more than loneliness.

_If there's anyone stubborn enough to tell Death 'No', it's you. _

"No."

* * *

"I found something!" Tali shouted, omni-tool glowing on her arm, illuminating the darkness around her.

They'd all spread out after Kasumi showed them how to scan for static residue, looking for anything.

Tali had already known how to do that, of course, and had gotten to work as Kasumi explained what to do, group standing on the outside front pathway as Tali wandered around scanning.

Now, standing in front of broken concrete that formed a sort of sheltered hut, she brought up the scan as the others crowded around her.

"What have you found?" Kasumi asked, peering over her shoulder on tip-toes.

"Uh oh." Tali said, dread making her stomach fill with ice as she read the scans of what weapon had discharged the static.

"What? What?" Grunt said, sounding impatient.

"The program that was used that created the static discharge was a neural-implant scrambler."

"A what?" Grunt asked, sounding confused.

"It disables biotic ability, meaning that if Shepard or Wrex were hit by this then they won't be able to use biotics."

"That's not good." Kasumi said unhelpfully.

Miranda spoke up. "That means that they're probably not dead."

The group turned to her, faces a big question mark. She rolled her eyes.

"If the Ustanok are using tech to disable their abilities, that means they wanted them alive. Krogan don't usually cripple someone they want dead; they use guns for that. If they *had* wanted them dead, there'd be bullets or shrapnel and blood around here."

"So, what now?" Garrus asked. "I'm glad that Shepard and Wrex probably aren't dead, but how does this help us?"

Kasumi's eyes shined. "The neural-implant scramble lasts about thirty-six hours. While in effect, it sends out small electric pulses at regular intervals to make sure the implant stays offline. It basically makes the implant think it's overheated and shuts itself down so it doesn't cause brain damage."

"And this is relevant because..."

"I wasn't finished, turian," Kasumi sad impatiently. "Because it sends out electric pulses at regular intervals, it stands out from normal communications and other technological devices. Meaning that it's trackable."

"How far away can you track it from?" Bakara asked.

Kasumi shrugged. "Couple miles, maybe. If we flew over Ustanok territory I might be able to find them."

"They've got upgraded guns from Cerberus; we'll be shot down in minutes." Bakara said, shaking her head and looking extremely frustrated.

Kasumi frowned, thinking. "How close can you get to their borders without setting off any alarms?"

"About a kilometer." Bakara answered.

"Then we drive a truck there, I get out with my cloak on, disable alarms and guns, and you guys wait while I figure out where Shepard and Wrex are, then sneak them out to the truck." Kasumi said, sounding excited at the prospect of sneaking into an enemy base.

"How big are Ustanok lands? Shepard and Wrex could be anywhere and you could spend hours in their camp and not find them." Miranda said with a small frown.

"There is a small jail just inside their borders. They've captured Urdnot scouts who've sent back information about the small base there before being killed. If they're anywhere, it's there." Bakara spoke up.

"A sneaking krogan? And Wrex, at that? I'd pay money to see that happen." Garrus said in his usual dry tones. Tali wondered how he could crack jokes at any point in time, no matter how dangerous or stressful a situation might be.

* * *

Kasumi scaled the wall of the border, hopping over and landing on the walkway of the wall, careful to stay away from the guards patrolling it. She had expected it to be taller; its was only built about five meters up from the ground. It made sense, she supposed. Krogan weren't built for climbing, so building a thick wall that was only meter taller than them usually kept them out. She brought up her omni-tool and quickly and quietly, she disabled the guns nearest to her. Now they wouldn't be able to destroy the truck when it got close to extract her, Wrex and Shepard.

She slid down the other side of the wall onto the ground. Now she was in Ustanok territory, and with her cloak activated, no one knew she was there. Man, this was already fun. Now to find those two prisoners.

She remembered the layout of the building Bakara had shown to her before they left. The female krogan had stayed behind, trying to keep things quiet about Wrex's disappearance so as not to alarm his citizens.

Now she walked down a rough pathway that veered off in several directions, all leading to some sort of building. She took the second one to the left, walking towards the concrete jail that the pathway terminated at. The console of the door was red, but a couple taps from her omni-tool and she got it open. Walking inside, she made a rough estimate of how far the three of them would have to run.

The compound was pretty open, so she had to come up with a-

"Which idiot left the door open? We need this kept closed in case the prisoner wants to try and escape again." a krogan complained, walking over and closing them door with the press of a button on the wall next to it.

Kasumi darted inside, who had still been standing in the doorway thinking, and pressed herself up against the concrete wall to avoid bumping into the krogan.

The guard stopped and sniffed the air, looking around. "Hmmmm..." he started walking towards her, still sniffing.

He was close to her now, his face inches away from her, hot breath blowing onto her, ruffling her hood. She held her breath and stood stalk still.

The scout suddenly reached out a hand to grab at the air that was her, and she slid silently down the wall and curled herself into a ball against the concrete at the krogan's feet, tense and waiting.

After what seemed like forever and the guard's groping hand finding nothing but air, he started walking away, muttering to himself that that damn alien was stinking up the whole prison.

Kasumi left out her breath slowly and quietly, not wanting to repeat such an incident by blowing out a ragged breath, stilling crouching in a ball on the floor.

She stood up slowly, legs shaking a little. She had to be extra careful.

Sneaking on silent feet, she traveled around the small jail, looking for Shepard or Wrex. Something suddenly occurred to her. The guard had said "prisoner", not "prisoners". Singular. As in one. That wasn't good news.

She quickened her silent pace, glancing in all the cells. She quickly pulled up her omni-tool, seeing no guards around that could catch sight of the device's light, and brought up the scanner.

It detected two pulses in it's vicinity, but they were far apart. One of them was in the jail, but the other was taken somewhere else. She hoped that they were still both alive; the pulse still went off post-mortem until the thirty-six hours were complete.

She closed her omni-tool and went in the direction of the pulse that was closest to her; the one in the jail.

She came to a stop at a cell that was beside a thick-looking door, and peered in.

She saw Wrex sitting on a stone bench inside the cell with his great head buried in his large hands.

She looked around, and saw two guards walking down a hallway perpendicular to the one she was in, talking about something. "How long do you think he'll last?" one asked.

The other laughed. "A minute at best. Warlord Graad is stronger than any krogan, much less a human."

They walked out of sight, and Kasumi's stomach knotted itself in a tight ball, fear and dread jolting through her small frame. They were talking about Shepard.

Seeing no other guards around, she sent out a fierce whisper to the cell's occupant. "Wrex!"

His head snapped up, crimson eyes scanning the area. "Who's there?" he called softly.

"It's Kasumi. I'm Shepard's friend; we met at the wedding, remember?"

"Where are you?" he said, speaking quietly so as not to alert the guards.

"I've got a cloak on so the no one sees me. Where's Shepard?"

Wrex heaved a sigh, eyes mournful. "He challenged Warlord Graad to combat. He bet Graad that if he won they'd let us go, and Graad agreed. They're fighting right now."

"What!?" Kasumi said. Her voice echoed and she clapped a hand over her mouth. When no one came to check the noise, she continued in an urgent whisper. "Why the hell would he do that?"

Sad amusement shone in Wrex's eyes. "It's Shepard." he said by way of explanation. "They were about to execute us when he challenged Graad. I asked to stand in his place in the fight but Graad refused. They put me in here till he kills Shepard. They'll probably execute me after that."

Kasumi frowned, though Wrex couldn't see it. "You don't know that Graad will kill him; Shepard might win."

The krogan sighed again. "They made us walk through the wastelands to get here, and Shepard can barely stand. Stubborn bastard actually managed to walk the whole way, but he's in no shape to be fighting now."

Kasumi munched on her lip, thinking. "They through those doors?" she said, meaning the ones next to Wrex's cell.

He nodded. "Yeah."

"I'll be right back." she said and opened the door.

"Wait!" Wrex called out, but she didn't hear him, the sight in front of her freezing her in place.

Shepard was on the ground, bruised and sunburnt, staring up at the krogan she assumed was Graad, who was standing over him.

"This has gone on long enough. You'll die now human, and it won't be painless."

"No."

She saw Shepard lunge towards the krogan, a look of fierce rage on his face, making him look almost feral.

He slammed into the krogan with all his might, yanking the blade that had been imbedded into the krogan's eye and stabbed him in the throat.

Graad roared, a gurgling present in the growl, and swung sharp claws at Shepard, raking his back and up his shoulder as the krogan staggered back, but Shepard didn't seem to notice. He pulled out the knife and stabbed again, this time in the other eye. Pulling it out again, he stabbed his throat once more. Again and again he buried the blade into the krogan, and after the fifth or sixth stab Graad finally dropped to his knees.

Shepard brought up the blade a last time, and imbedded it into the krogan's temple.

Graad collapsed on the ground, now dead.

Shepard stood there, swaying for a moment. "I win." he said in a calm voice, and collapsed beside the krogan.

* * *

Wrex was walking beside Kasumi, carrying Shepard in his arms as they made the small walk back to the truck.

After Graad had been killed, the krogan in the crowd had stood silent for a moment, dumbfounded that their leader had been killed. Kasumi had run out onto the stone field, cloak deactivated, and slid on her knees in front of Shepard.

He had been lying on his back, bruised an bloodied. Kasumi checked his pulse, finding it weak but somewhat steady. She pulled out her omni-tool and remotely deactivated Wrex's cell, who lumbered out onto the field to stand beside Kasumi.

Wrex bent down and picked Shepard up in his arms, and as they walked out of the field, Kasumi was surprised to see that none of them tried to stop them.

"Your new Warlord will return when his injuries have been healed." Wrex called out to the crowd, and they walked through the doors.

"New Warlord?" Kasumi asked, horribly confused.

Before Wrex could reply, guards surrounded them. "How'd you get out of your cell?" one asked.

"Graad is dead; let us pass." Wrex said, ignoring the question.

"... What? Shepard killed him?" another spoke up, incredulous.

"Yes, he's your Warlord now. So let us through." Wrex replied.

A guard pushed past them and looked through the doorway at the sight greeting his eyes on the field. The krogan said something that Kasumi's translator didn't pick up.

"Graad is dead." The guard said, sounding almost horrified. "Urdnot is right."

"We can't have a human for a Warlord!" a guard said, outraged.

Wrex looked annoyed. "You know the rules. Shepard killed him in a challenge, so he takes over the Ustanok clan. Now let us through."

The guards parted like the Red Sea, letting them pass without another comment.

_What the hell?_ Kasumi thought but didn't question it at the moment, simply walking away with Wrex.

Now, out in the desert, the cold making her pull her hood down tighter, she spoke up. "What the heck was all that about?"

"It's Tuchanka law, one that's been in place for as long as krogan have lived. If you challenge a Warlord to single combat and win, you absorb whatever he had owned; resources, females, soldiers. It doesn't matter that Shepard is human, the law stands for anyone able to beat a Warlord."

"You guys don't care if an alien takes over a clan?"

Wrex chuckled. "No alien ever has. There have been a couple stupid enough to challenge a Warlord, but none of them ever won. The law didn't have to discriminate because we've never had a need for it."

Something occurred to Kasumi. "But we've killed Warlords before, why didn't we take whatever they had?"

"That law only applies when on Tuchanka. Krogan off-world no longer have to obey that law."

"But we killed Gatatog Uvenk and Weyrloc Guld when we stopped by on Tuchanka during our fight against the Collectors."

Wrex shook his head, still walking as he carried an unconscious Shepard.

"Uvenk intervened during Grunt's Rite of Passage. Even if it is forbidden to do so, it counts as Grunt surviving the assault during his Passage and many Tuchankan rules about clan rivalry are void when completing the Rite, so it didn't count.

"As for Weyrloc Guld, he was only the chief stationed on Urdnot territory, not the true clan leader. And even if he was, you were acting under my authority to attack them, so the clan's materials and people would go to me."

"I see." Kasumi said, confusion starting to clear up. There was only one last thing she wasn't certain of, though.

"What happens to all those Ustanok krogan now? I mean, Shepard can't stay on Tuchanka and rule over them."

Wrex chuckled. "No clue. We'll have to figure that out."

The truck came into view as they turned around some broken concrete. Kasumi ran ahead and banged on the door.

"Open up! I've got them!"

* * *

Tali was startled out of dreaded thoughts about all the ways Shepard could be killed by the Ustanok when Kasumi knocked on the tomkah's door and announced that she had found them.

Tali pushed the door open and jumped out, eyes scanning for her husband. She saw him hanging limply in Wrex's arms.

"John!"

She ran over to him, a finger stroking his cheek. "What happened?" She asked, looking up at Wrex.

"Let me get him into the truck and I'll tell you."

It took some maneuvering, Grunt and Garrus helping Wrex carry Shepard's form into the truck, but they'd managed to get Shepard in and lie him on the floor of the tomkah, him being too tall to be put down on a bench.

Tali sat on the ground with his head in her lap, brushing her fingers over his stubbled and sunburnt face.

He looked terrible. His face was a tone darker than it had been, and his skin had started to peal slightly. Exhaustion ran through every line in his face, making him look years older than he was.

They'd taken off his t-shirt to tend to his wounds, and Tali looked upon his upper body with distress. His abdomen was covered by a bandage that held his broken ribs in place, and the skin was puffy and hot to the touch, even more so than the rest of his body, which radiated even more heat than normal due to his sunburn.

The worst was his right shoulder. Two deep slashes from the krogan's claws started at the base of his shoulder blade on his back and ran all the way up to his shoulder, the wound ending in line with his collarbone.

That injury had been administered ample amounts of medi-gel by Miranda, who had seen to his wounds, and wrapped the wound up with a cotton bandage, which encircled the base of his arm.

He hadn't woken or even stirred the whole drive, which worried Tali. Wrex had told them the whole story; the surprise attack, the walk through the desert, and Shepard's challenge to Graad. Grunt had thoroughly enjoyed the story of his Battlemaster defeating a krogan in single combat, blue eyes alight with excitement as Wrex recounted the tale.

By all rights Shepard should be dead by now, but he was also the most stubborn person in the galaxy, and had quite literally told Death to fuck off.

The truck came to a stop and everyone looked up, who had all been deep in thought.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen, we have arrives at our destination. Please enjoy your stay." Garrus said from the driver's seat.

They got out, Wrex carrying Shepard once more, and started walking towards the shuttle they'd flown.

"What are you doing Wrex?" Tali asked and walked up to him.

"Putting him in the shuttle so you can take him back to the Normandy. We don't have a hospital with supplies to take care of humans." he said. "Open the door."

Tali did so, and Wrex laid him down on the bench, the shuttle being big enough to facilitate an unconscious soldier. "I'll speak to Bakara quickly and then I'm coming up to the Normandy with you. I want to thank Shepard in person before he flies off to fight more battles."

* * *

Wrex and Grunt had taken the shuttle Shepard had flown and the rest piled in the other shuttle, again with Tali holding Shepard's head in her lap.

Garrus watched his two closest friends, lost in thought. Bakara had been effusive in her thanks of Wrex's return, telling them to make sure Shepard knew she was grateful. She couldn't thank him in person, as leaving Tuchanka without a leader, even for a short visit, was not a good idea.

They had briefly met Wrex and Bakara's children, the two older ones asking them to pass along their thanks to Shepard while the small girl stood there in wonder of all the aliens around her.

Now back in the shuttle, Garrus watched Tali softly stroke Shepard's face with gentle fingers, murmuring so softly to him Khellish that his translator didn't pick it up. He sensed that her gentle croonings were more to calm herself down than anything else.

He hoped that Shepard would be alright, for a number of reasons. The first being that he greatly cared for the man he'd come to know as his closest friend, the second being for Tali's sake. Before they'd found their way back to the Commander after the defeat of the Reapers and everyone thought him dead, Tali had been a shell of her former happy, nervous self. She had almost never spoken and spent her entire days either in Engineering or on Deck One, not daring to socialise with anyone.

If Shepard died, she wouldn't live through it again, and Garrus didn't think he could bear losing both of them.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: I hope you guys don't choke on the amount of fluff in this chapter, because I almost did.

And I thank you wonderful people who listened to my rant and reviewed. It was great to read them.

* * *

**Chapter 13: What a View**

Tali paced across the crew deck, waiting.

The ground team had given Shepard over to Chakwas for medical treatment, and now all awaited anxiously, sitting around the mess tables.

But Tali couldn't sit still, so she opted for pacing. She knew Shepard would probably be fine, but he was still injured.

"Tali, sit down," Garrus said, concern in his flanged voice. "He's going to be fine. If Shepard can survive the injuries he got from the Reaper War he can survive a bit of sun stroke and a fistfight with a krogan."

She was about to reply that pacing suited her just fine, and that she would stop worrying when she could see Shepard when she heard someone call her name.

"Tali." She stopped pacing and turned to see Chakwas standing half out of the med bay door, smiling kindly at her.

"How is he? Is... is he okay?"

"Yes Tali, he's alright." The doctor replied, coming fully out of the med bay. "He's lost some blood from that nasty scratch, and he's gotten heat stroke. He's dehydrated and his body has exhausted itself, but Shepard's alright."

Tali let out her breath in a relieved sigh. "Is he awake?"

Chakwas shook her head. "Not yet. His body needs rest desperately. What happened to him, exactly?"

Wrex spoke up, who'd been leaning against the partition that divided the two mess tables. "Rebel clan on Tuchanka attacked us. We had to walk through the wastelands to get to their camp and Shepard actually managed to stay upright the whole way.

"They'd wanted to execute us, gain power over Urdnot territory, I guess. Shepard challenged the Ustanok Warlord to single combat. Said if he won, we'd go free. Ustanok Graad agreed, and now he's just a bloody hump on the ground." Wrex shook his head, laughing. "Walked through the desert and hadn't had food or water all day, and Shepard managed to beat an eight hundred year old krogan Warlord with a rusty combat blade."

"I wish I had seen it. It sounded glorious." Grunt said, eyes shining.

"Arrogant," Aisha muttered from her seat. She hadn't spoken a word since they'd brought Shepard on board, and had stared at the Commander's unconscious form in Wrex's arms with a look that was close to horror. Tali couldn't blame the woman; Shepard looked terrible.

"What?" Tali asked.

Aisha spoke up so that she was heard. "Arrogant. This Warlord Graad. Such a pity."

"Pity? _Pity?_ What, that Shepard killed him? That he was smart and reckless enough to realise that he could use the man's arrogance against him?" Tali said, now angry. She hadn't slept for the past twenty four hours, working all day, then staying up and waiting for Shepard to get back, then flying to Tuchanka when he didn't. Coupled with exhaustion, her worry for Shepard, and her sour relationship with Aisha, Tali's temper was on a short fuse.

Aisha held up her hands. "That was not my meaning. I simply meant that it is a pity that people can be so confident in themselves that they are blind to danger. I did not mean offense."

"I'm sure you didn't." Tali said, narrowing her eyes. "I'm checking on John." she walked towards the med bay.

Chakwas stepped by and gestured for her to go in, closing the door, leaving Tali alone with her husband. Her anger faded a bit as she smiled, grateful that Chakwas was giving her some privacy.

She walked over to the bed Shepard occupied, who was indeed still asleep. Tali pulled up a chair and sat down next to him, taking a hold of his hand. "You're such an idiot, Shepard."

She studied him for a time, her thoughts beginning to drift as she looked at him.

The man was somewhat of a contradiction, she mused, watching his features. He was organised and did things in a specific way - get up at dawn, have a coffee, always making the bed - yet was impulsive on the battlefield, making him hard to predict. He had grown up in a military environment and had chosen it as his career path, yet didn't give a damn about many of the regulations. He was handsome and confident, yet not arrogant or vain about it. He was cocky and humble at the same time.

She did this, sometimes. Think about all his little mannerisms and the way he did things, how he went about in life. She did this whenever he did something _really_ stupid - like now - as if she were trying to figure out what went on inside his head, what made him do these outrageous things.

She never really got an answer from these silent wonderings.

* * *

_I'm dead. This is what Hell feels like_. he thought, consciousness starting to coalesce inside his brain, making him aware of which parts of his body hurt. Which would be all of them.

He heard a quiet laugh beside him. "You're not dead John, although you're lucky I don't strangle you after the stunt you pulled."

He cracked open an eye, seeing a beautiful woman sitting beside him and realising he'd voiced his thoughts aloud. "Maybe not, but if I am... I have to say, Lucifer's Domain has quite the view."

She smiled then, his wife. The one whom had pulled him through the fight he'd almost lost. But then again, it was always her who helped him fight. Helped him remember an ideal to live for instead of a duty to die for. Always his Tali.

"I'd smack you of you weren't already hurt."

He chuckled, but stopped when a sharp pain lanced through his side.

"Are you okay? Do you want me to get Chakwas?" she said, seeing the pain flash across his face and start to get up.

He tugged on the hand she'd put in his. "Tali, I'm okay. My ribs are just a little sore."

She stared at him for a moment, judging his words. Seeing that he wasn't lying too horribly about his ribs, she sat back down. "How are you feeling?"

"I've been better."

"How's your shoulder?" she asked. "That looked pretty nasty."

He chuckled again, this time more carefully. "Yeah, it's not too bad right now. Damn thing will likely scar though."

"Well, I like your scars."

"Really?" he said, drawing the word out and arching a brow.

She nodded. "It reminds me of all the times you did something stupid on a mission and I had to come save you."

He laughed aloud, too amused to care about his burning ribs. "Careful, you're almost starting to sound like Garrus."

"Ugh. I am _not_ like Garrus."

"Oh, I know. If you were I wouldn't have slept with you."

She did smack him this time.

"You are such a bosh'tet. You're sitting here injured, and all you do is try to make me feel better."

He brought the palm that had been in his hand up to his lips and kissed it, smiling.

"Is it working?"

"A little," she said, pulling her hand from his and laying gently on his cheek. "Just heal up and I'll feel better. You are such an idiot, John. Making bets with Warlords."

"I wanted to get back to you. We were about to be executed and I couldn't think of anything else."

She gave him a small smile, eyes shining. "Idiot..." she whispered again, but it sounded like a compliment the way she said it.

He took her hand again. "Well I guess I have to call your mental health into question as well." he said, grinning.

"And why is that?"

"Well, if you keep hanging around with a lunatic like me, what does that make _you_?"

She laughed, and his heart warmed. His distraction attempts _were_ working. She always worried too much, and it was good to see her relaxing, even just a tiny bit.

"A woman with very poor judgement. But I sort of like you, so I think I'll stick around."

As they had talked, the hand Tali had been holding had moved up her arm and down her side, and would have come to rest on her rear had she not grabbed his hand again.

"Shepard! you're exhausted and injured. There's no way you could possibly..."

He laughed, though it hurt his ribs. "Yeah, I probably wouldn't be able to. But that doesn't mean I can't think about it."

They laughed softly and were quiet for a time, sitting in companionable silence. He looked at her and shifted suddenly in the bed. "Come here," he said to her, patting the small empty space he'd made. "Come sleep with me." he'd noticed the circles under her eyes, and the way she kept blinking. She looked almost as tired as he felt.

"No, Shepard. I might move and hit your ribs or-"

"It's fine Tali. I don't care."

"But I do!" she replied, sounding annoyed. "You're already hurt. I don't want to cause you any more pain."

"Look, I know you're tired. I also know that even though there are empty beds around you'll probably sleep in that chair so you can sit near me. So just get into bed and sleep with me. You'll be more comfortable."

She arched a brow. "You're very demanding, aren't you?"

"Only because you're so stubborn. Besides, you're supposed to humour sick people."

She laughed, her voice echoing in the room. "_You're_ calling _me_ stubborn?"

"Yeah. Now _come here._"

She finally relented and slipped under the covers next to him. She wrapped an arm around his waist, careful not to touch his broken ribs. They were asleep in minutes.

* * *

Shepard groaned as he awoke, a warm weight pressing on his body. He tilted his head to see Tali lying on him, a cute little snore coming out of her as she rested her head on his good shoulder, her mouth forming a tiny "o" as her cheek pressed against him.

His ribs hurt, but she looked so comfortable that he didn't want to disturb her.

The med bay door suddenly opened to admit Chakwas, who was holding a coffee. "Good morning, Shepard." she said, smiling at the scene before her.

"Good morning, Doctor."

"Sleep well, I trust?"

"Very." he replied, a grin on his face.

Chakwas rolled her eyes. "Tell me the two of you didn't, Shepard. You're in no condition for such activities."

He chuckled, but kept it short as the burning in his sides increased. "No. Tali did however manage to crawl on top of me at some point in the night."

The object of their conversation, who must have felt the vibrations in his chest as he spoke, began to stir. She lifted her head off his shoulder, blinking.

She looked and him and smiled. "Hi."

"Good morning." he said, smiling back. She tilted her head down and planted a kiss on his lips. She looked like she was about to say something, but Chakwas spoke up.

"While I don't like interrupting your nice moment together, I have to ask you to get off of the Commander; I have to examine him."

"Chakwas, Keela - oh Shepard, I'm sorry!" Tali had jumped, and the movement had jolted his ribs, making him hiss in pain.

"... It's okay."

She slid off of him and came to her feet next to the bed. "Keelah, I slept on you... I didn't even know I..."

He smiled at her. "Don't worry. It didn't bother me."

Tali turned her attention back to Chakwas, blushing. "We didn't... I mean we weren't..."

Chakwas waved a hand at Tali. "Don't worry, dear. Shepard's already proved you both had an innocent sleep."

"Wasn't for lack of trying, though."

"_Shepard!_" Tali turned back to him, looking at him with incredulity. Chakwas would be Shepard's aunt by quarian terms, and she had helped Tali before with the delicate subject of how best to go about sleeping with the Commander due to her immune system troubles, yet Tali still found sex embarrassing to talk about in front of the kindly Doctor. Which Shepard of course found hilarious.

He grinned at her. "Go get some breakfast and relax. Chakwas is just gonna give me an examination and probably try to inject a bunch of drugs into me."

Tali bent down to kiss him. "Okay. I'll be back soon." she smiled at him and began to walk out of the med bay doors.

"Lord, what a view!" He called to her dramatically, eyeing her curvy form.

"Shut up!" she called back, blushing. The doors closed and his body shook with suppressed amusement.

"Stop torturing your wife and sit up; I want to take a look at that shoulder."

"Yes ma'am."

* * *

Tali stepped out onto the crew deck, still blushing, in search of food. Truth be told she was starving, but she hadn't wanted to leave Shepard. Knowing he was now in the capable hands of Chakwas, who wouldn't let him do anything stupid like get up and walk around, she allowed herself to relax a little. John was alright.

"Woohoo! You're finally done hogging Shep, which means that I can actually go visit him now." Kasumi said to her left, appearing next to her as her cloak deactivated.

Tali jumped a little. "Would you stop doing that?"

"Nope. I'm going to go see Shep, so I'll see you later."

"Wait! Chakwas is examining him."

Kasumi snorted. "Don't worry, your husband doesn't have anything I haven't seen before." she said, walking through the med bay doors.

Tali sighed.

"Quarian." She heard Wrex as he lumbered into the mess hall, looking at her with amusement in his eyes. "How is Shepard doing?"

"I thought I told you to stop calling me that?" she said, but walked up to give him a hug. They hadn't really talked or even said hi since she'd been so focused on Shepard, and it had been a while since she'd last seen Wrex.

Wrex seemed a little surprised, but hugged her back.

"And he's well enough to be making stupid jokes."

Wrex laughed as they pulled away from one another. "Good."

He lumbered past her into the kitchen area, scaring Traynor who'd been standing there making something and backed away from the krogan standing in front of the fridge. "I won't bite, human. You don't taste very good."

Traynor's eyes widened slightly and Tali went up to put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, he's harmless. He's just joking."

Traynor nodded, still looking a little worried. She picked up her food off of the kitchen counter and walked to the elevator, presumably to return to her post. Tali noted that she was walking a bit faster than normal.

"Don't scare her, Wrex. It's not nice." Tali chided when Traynor was out of ear shot.

Wrex just laughed. "Is Shepard awake?" he asked.

"Yes, but Chakwas is examining him right now. But that didn't seem to stop Kasumi, so I guess you could probably go talk to him."

Wrex walked back to the lift, giant portion of food in hand. "After breakfast."

"Where are you going?"

"Shuttle Bay. Nice and open down there." with that, he was out of sight.

Tali walked over to the fridge to look for some dextro-friendly food, which she could finally eat without it being in a nutrient tube.

* * *

Shepard sat up in bed as Chakwas undid the bandage around his shoulder. He was about to speak when the med day door opened and Kasumi appeared.

"Hello, O Powerful Warlord." she said by way of greeting.

"Warlord?" he said, confused.

Kasumi giggled at his expression. "Did Tali not tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"You're a super-powerful Tuchankan Battlemaster now."

"... What?"

Kasumi rolled her eyes. "You're pretty slow in the morning, aren't you?"

"Kasumi, I swear to God. Tell me what the hell it is that you're talking about."

"Or what? You gonna attack me?"

He rubbed the bridge of his nose, a sigh coming out of him. It quickly turned to a hiss of pain as Chakwas touched the claw marks on his back.

"Sorry, I have to put more medi-gel on it. It won't take long."

Kasumi walked over to see the mark. "That doesn't look pretty. And what is this scar from, Mr. Gunn?" she asked, running a finger down one that went all the way down his back on a slight angle.

"Akuze." he said shortly, not wanting to talk about it. It wasn't a topic he enjoyed discussing.

Kasumi sobered a bit. "Oh. Anyway, about the Warlord thing. Wrex says 'cuz you killed Graad in single combat that you absorb his lands and people."

"What? Ow!" he turned to give Chakwas the stink-eye, who'd pressed a finger into his shoulder.

"Be quiet, I'm almost finished."

He sighed. "Okay, what is this about me being a Battlemaster?"

"I pretty much told you everything already. Kill a Warlord, you get it keep all his stuff. Kinda cool, actually."

"No, it's not at all cool."

"Why not? You've got a horde of angry krogan to help bring Cerberus down now."

"Because. I've been responsible for millions of people before, and I hated it. I don't want that kind of power."

"Hackett only gave you those responsibilities during the War because he knew you could handle it. And you did. There, I'm done your shoulder." Chakwas said, stepping away from him.

"That didn't mean I liked it. It's too much... I don't want it again. The only people I want to be responsible for is my crew."

Chakwas nodded. "Then you need to go talk to Wrex. He'll have something, I'm sure."

Shepard nodded and jumped down from the bed. "I'll go talk to him."

"Wait! I didn't mean now! You're still injured. Get back into bed this instant!"

"I don't think you should be talking to your superiors like that."

"I've got a good thirty years on you, young man. Superior, my foot."

"I'll be fine."

"You're lying."

"Am not."

Chakwas gave a long suffering sigh. "Shepard..."

"I. Will. Be. Fine. I'm all cramped from lying in bed, anyway; walking will do me good."

Chakwas arched a steel brow. "Oh? I didn't know you were a medical professional."

"I learned from the best." he said, grinning at her.

Chakwas sighed. "Just be careful. Move slowly. And by God if you trip and fall doing something stupid I won't put you back together again."

"Duly noted."


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: Because I have to get this stupid thing called an education and school is starting up again, updates won't be the daily thing that they have been. But don't worry, I fully plan on finishing this story.

Also, I posted another story if you want to check it out. Well, it's a one-shot, not really a story, but you get the idea. It's about Tali and Shepard's night before the Omega-4 relay. So go read it. Yes, right now.

* * *

**Chapter 14: Brothers in Arms**

Shepard stepped out of the elevator and onto Deck 5, smiling.

After coming out of the med-bay, he'd promptly gotten into an argument with Tali that lasted a good ten minutes before she relented with a few choice quarian curses and told him that if he injured himself further by walking around the ship half-naked she wouldn't lift a finger to help him, her words echoing Chakwas' comment to him moments earlier. The only thing she insisted that he do was put on a shirt, whether it was because Aisha was present and she was still feeling protective or if she just wanted him to keep warm he wasn't certain.

Now clad in a t-shirt that hurt his burnt skin when he moved, he made his way over to Wrex, limping slightly. His bad leg didn't seem to agree with his earlier decision of challenging Graad and decided to punish him for his rash behaviour by giving out a dull, aching throb whenever he put weight on it.

After the argument, Tali had told him where Wrex was, which had made him laugh. He figured the krogan would be in the shuttle bay; he never did like cramped spaces.

Wrex seemed to be in an animated conversation with Grunt and Garrus. Well, Grunt was animated; Wrex talked in his usual calm, gravelly tones that spoke of an old age humans could only dream of, and Garrus seemed to be simply absorbing whatever Wrex was talking about.

"Shepard! Ha! I knew you wouldn't be kept in some med-bay by doctors." Grunt said in his usual booming voice that always seemed to hold a hint of excitement whenever anything vaguely militant or violent came into topic. Shepard wondered what their conversation had been about.

"If anyone wanted me to stay in the med-bay it was Tali; woman argued with me a hell of a lot longer than Chakwas did." he replied, grinning.

Wrex chuckled. "I see you're not dead, Shepard. Had me almost worried there for a minute."

Shepard laughed, broken ribs protesting his amusement. "I can't imagine why; krogan Warlords are so easy to beat the shit out of."

Garrus laughed. "Well, maybe for you. Might have an extra scar for your troubles, though. " he said, gesturing towards the bandage that padded his right shoulder under his shirt.

He shrugged, but instantly regretted it. Neither his shoulder nor his ribs seemed to like the movement. He sighed. "Yeah, probably. But Tali really doesn't seem to mind my scars. She actually said she liked them." he said, grinning.

Garrus made a gagging noise. "Seriously, you're doing this crap right in the morning? If you wanna talk about how hot your wife thinks you look - which if she does then I question her judgement - go do it where I'm not around."

"What, but you can go on talking about your reach and flexibility story? And if you seriously mean to tell me someone actually slept with you she must've been blind or really, _really_ drunk."

Wrex and Grunt had been laughing as their conversation went on, but at that this they started to roar with amusement.

Wrex recovered first, his voice full of suppressed mirth. "I've missed this place. Food sucks and you keep a bunch of smelly aliens on board, but the company isn't too bad."

"Especially those two krogan that hang around the shuttle bay. They both smell like shit."

Laughter rang out again around the bay. A minute or so passed as everyone got their amusement under control, and with a sobering look Wrex turned to Shepard. "I suppose you're here to ask me what to do about your new title?"

Shepard nodded, now serious. "I don't want to be a Warlord, Wrex."

"Why not?"

"I've never wanted that kind of power before. Hackett tasked me with saving the galaxy, giving me trillions of lives to look after... I didn't want it. I never have and I never will. I did it before because I had to, and I would again, if it was necessary... But it's not, is it? Isn't there some way I can pass the torch to someone?"

Wrex rubbed the dew lap on his chin, thinking. It was a startlingly human gesture, making Shepard again aware that although the krogan may be portrayed by the media as oblivious and dumb, Wrex was far more observant than he ever let on, picking up small mannerisms from the people who never even knew he paid any mind to.

"You could challenge him to single combat." said Garrus, sounding amused.

"Couldn't I just hand over my title to you?" Shepard said, worried. He didn't want someone to kill him in combat just so he didn't have to have the responsibility of looking after the Ustanok clan.

"Hmm... maybe. if you and your holdings were absorbed into Urdnot."

"So, I'd have to become an Urdnot to give the Ustanok over to you? Wouldn't I have to do a Rite of Passage first?"

"You already did one. With Grunt." Wrex said, gesturing to the young krogan. "But unlike him, you never joined a clan. By krogan standards, you're an adult, you're just clanless. Technically you're Ustanok at the moment, but that'll change if you become an Urdnot."

Shepard frowned, brows drawing together as he thought. "Yeah, that could work. Is there anything special I have to do?"

"Just have to land on Tuchanka again and give a formal acknowledgement that you agree to give your lands to me."

Shepard nodded. "How soon can we do this?"

"Now, if you want."

"Alright. Why don't we get this over and done with?"

Wrex nodded. "Sounds good. Oh, I forgot to mention. Bakara and the others asked me to thank you for getting us out of Ustanok territory and making sure we didn't get killed."

Shepard raised a brow. "I didn't really do anything, though. Tali told me that Kasumi snuck around the Ustanok camp and would've busted us out if I hadn't beaten Graad. I only made the escape easier."

Wrex shook his head. "That doesn't matter. The point was that you tried to fight to keep us alive while I sat on my ass."

"You couldn't've done anything, Wrex. You already offered to stand in my place and you couldn't really try and fight your way out of a camp with thousands of krogan in it when Graad refused for you to take my place in the battle."

Wrex sighed, shaking his head again. "I owe you more than you'll ever know, Shepard. You gave me purpose when we fought against Saren. Because of you, I was able to return to Tuchanka and become a leader that my people needed. You came to the aid of the krogan during the Reaper War and helped cure the Genophage. You made the krogan whole again, and then you come back now years later, cut the head off of the remaining resistance on Tuchanka and give me even more clans and people. I can't think of anything that I could do to ever make us even."

"You helped me beat the Reapers. I'd say we're even."

"Didn't really have a choice. It was either fight or be turned into freaks by those things."

"Wrex." Shepard put a hand in his friend's shoulder. "We're even. You don't owe me anything. Now let's get this over and done with."

* * *

"Tali, you know you don't have to come."

"The last time I let you fly off to Tuchanka alone you got kidnapped and had to fight a krogan Warlord to escape. I'm coming with you."

He smiled and simply nodded. The woman *was* stubborn, even if she wouldn't admit it.

Garrus decided to come along for the ride as well, and so he, Tali, Shepard, Grunt and Wrex sat cramped in a shuttle as Cortez flew them planetside.

The ride was uneventful, and when they touched down and stepped at of the shuttle, Shepard winced at the heat, the temperature making him remember his thirst and the bone-deep ache of his muscles as he and Wrex had trudged through the wastelands not a day before.

"Maybe I should've stayed on the Normandy." Garrus commented, talons forming shade for his eyes as they walked towards Wrex's domain.

"Weak turian." Grunt said, giving him a challenging grin.

"I can still kick your ass."

Shepard stopped listening to the ensuing argument as Tali came up to him and put a hand on his arm as they walked. "How are you feeling?"

He smiled at her. "I'm okay. As long as no one attacks us, I'll be fine."

"Is your leg all right? Don't give me that look, I can see you limping," she added testily, seeing his expression.

"It's just a little sore is all."

She sighed, looping an arm through his has they approached the triangular building. "Okay, just take it easy."

"Don't I always?"

* * *

"Shepard. You have become an Urdnot. Now, do you swear to hand over your lands and people to me, as well as swear your loyalty?"

He smiled at Wrex. "I do."

Wrex raised his hands, shouting to other krogan in the hall. "Then it is done! The Urdnot finally have control of all of Tuchanka and her people! Now, as a united race, we shall show the galaxy that we are not just stupid brutes to hire for mercenary work! The voice of the krogan can be strong again!"

A deafening roar rang through the hall as Wrex gave his speech.

The Ustanok, who had all been brought over from the camp, had looked decidedly less happy than the Urdnots present, which worried Shepard.

The ceremony concluded, many krogan stayed in the hall, eating and drinking from the tables that had been set up, all talking loudly. Even some of the Ustanok remained, though they spoke amongst themselves.

Shepard and the others still stood on the dais, watching the festivities ensue. The Commander turned to Wrex, frowning. "Will they try and revolt?"

Wrex shrugged. "Maybe. But I'll be ready if they do. I can't thank you enough, Shepard."

Shepard shook his head, smiling at his old friend. "You stood by me when it counted and believed me right from the start about the Reapers. That's more than I can say for many in the galaxy."

"It wasn't hard to believe you about the Reapers when we found all that damned evidence everyone pretended didn't exist. But I will always stand by you, brother. Anything you need, however small, just call on the Urdnot. We'll be with you."

Shepard nodded, clapping hands with the krogan. "I'm grateful."

Garrus spoke up. "I don't really want to ruin the moment, but the Normandy is still messed up from the EMP and I haven't finished re-calibrating the main guns."

A giant grinned formed on the Commander's face. "Having separation anxiety, Garrus?"

Before a sharp comment could be fired back, Tali interrupted. "Garrus is right. We really should get back to help. It's a shame we can't stay." she said, frowning. "It would be nice to catch up."

"I'm right? Did you just here her say that? Well I'll be damned Shepard. Your wife _can_ learn."

A few minutes later, after Garrus was able to stand from the knee Tali had launched into a certain area that doesn't take blunt trauma well, they walked down from the dais and headed back to the shuttle.

"I wish you well on your hunt, Commander. If you ever need help with a fight, you can always call upon us." Bakara said, still atop the dais with Wrex, Grunt and her children.

"I appreciate it, Bakara. Stay safe, all of you."

"You too, brother." Wrex replied, smiling.


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: I'm posting this one last chapter before tomorrow, which would be when school starts again because I might not be able to post another one for a bit. This would be why I posted like three dang things today.

Shit's just about to get real, man. You'll see.

* * *

**Chapter 15: Fraternisation**

Shepard sat at the mess hall table, eating a late dinner. The ceremony on Tuchanka had gone well, but had only lasted a couple of hours, meaning that he had had the rest of the day to kill.

He was hardly a tech expert, so helping with the system repairs would probably not be a good idea, seeing as how his engineering attempts to fix a coffee machine had ended catastrophically. The only time he'd ever been of any use was when something heavy was in the way of a circuit board or some such, which didn't happen very often. So he had sort of wandered the ship, feeling useless.

Miranda plunked down onto a chair opposite him, bringing him out of his thoughts. She looked horribly annoyed.

"What's the matter?"

"The Council lost the assassin's backup data; I just got off talking with them on the QEC. Which means that we no longer have any of the Cerberus data."

She had told him after they had gotten back from the ceremony that the EMP sent out somehow erased the data as well. He'd told her not to worry as the Council had the backup. But not anymore, it seemed.

"What?"

She nodded. "One of their techs got electrocuted when he tried decrypting the data. After he recovered and came back to decoding it again he saw that all the info had been wiped." Miranda rubbed at her temples, as if she were fighting off a headache. "That intel was only lead on Cerberus we had. Now we're back to square one."

"Hunting down a dangerous group with little info to go on. I wonder why that sounds familiar." he said, slightly amused. "Saren and his army of geth, the Collectors, even Cerberus during the War. We should be pros at this by now."

Miranda cracked a smile. "However amusing it may be, it doesn't help us."

"Well, what about Cerberus activity? The Council started this investigation because the organisation was making trouble for people. Why don't we search for places they've disrupted?"

Miranda frowned, brows drawing together as she thought. "I suppose... Wait, what if we talked to Doctor T'Soni? She'll probably know what's going on."

Shepard nodded. "Sounds like a plan. Maybe-"

He stopped as he saw Aisha appear out of Kaiden's quarters. She looked over to him with golden eyes, looking quite relaxed. "Commander. Ms. Lawson." she nodded to them respectively, walking out of sight around the bend of the Crew Deck.

"Did she...?" Miranda trailed off, looking confused and suspicious at the same time.

"Oooh man! Kaiden's totally sleeping with her!" Kasumi's voice said just behind him, sounding excited and making him jump.

"Jesus, stop doing that. And we don't know what happened, so don't jump to conclusions." he said, turning to the tiny thief as he stood up to dispose of the tasteless mush that was his dinner.

She snorted. "Don't be such a prude, Shep. They're _so_ doing the dirty. I better tell Tali; then she'll stop giving Aisha the stink-eye whenever she walks into a room with you around."

Shepard sighed. "Don't go spreading rumours, okay? What if Aisha hears-"

"Then she'll just have to be more careful when she comes out of Kaiden's room. Besides, almost all the gossip around the Normandy is true. Like Ken and Gabby getting together, you and Tali-" she stopped, then appeared to be suddenly interested in her fingernails.

"Tali and I what?"

"Okay, don't get mad. And seriously don't tell your wife, or she'll kill Garrus."

"What the hell are you talking about, Kasumi?"

"Vakarian sorta made a betting pool with like all of the crew about when you guys would hook up. He said he started it on the SR1 but branched out when you got us all recruited for the suicide run against the Collectors."

Shepard sighed. "Alright. Well, who uh, won?"

She giggled. "Garrus, obviously. Everyone saw that you guys liked each other so he decided to put bets on specifically when you guys would date. Lots said after the Omega 4 Relay because they thought you'd be thinking about the mission instead of Tali, but Garrus said you guys would hook up pretty quick. And he was right, so he won."

"Did you know about this?" he said, turning to Miranda, who seemed to be hiding a smile rather poorly.

"Lost about fifty credits."

Shepard sighed again. "So, how big was his total winnings?"

"I don't know the exact number, but it was enough to purchase some shiny new upgrades for his Mantis rifle."

"I see."

"Seriously, don't spill the beans to Tali. She'll hurt Garrus and then he'll kill _me_."

"Scared of an ugly turian, Ms. Goto?"

"No, but if he tries to kill me I just don't want turian blood getting on my outfit when I beat him up. It's really hard to get off."

* * *

Aisha paced around the lounge, thinking. Shepard wasn't dead yet. Even worse, he ha taken over Ustanok and given them and all the tech she'd supplied to them to Urdnot.

She started to get angry again, and so she stopped and took a couple deep breaths. She doesn't get angry, doesn't do something stupid because of an emotional response. She only does things when they make sense.

Since an eight hundred year old krogan Warlord couldn't kill the man, she'd have to find someone that would. That very person was on the ship right now.

More thoughts began to form in her mind and she knew what the first course of action would be.

A few minutes later she stood outside of Kaiden's quarters, waiting for him to open the door. He was suffering from another migraine again. Her doing, of course. She needed him in such a state to give herself a reason to visit him, however he would find that his condition would quickly clear up once she started speaking to him.

No one was present in the mess hall, most of the crew patching up the Normandy's systems. Which was good, she supposed. The less people who saw her going into his cabin-

"Come in." she heard a soft call from inside, interrupting her thoughts.

She opened the door and stepped inside, seeing Kaiden sitting at his desk, his fingers rubbing at his temples. The overhead lights were very dim and it seemed he'd shut off everything on his desk that produced light.

"I see you have another headache." she said by way of greeting, walking over and taking a seat in the chair on the other side of his desk, speaking in the same soft tones he had.

He looked up in surprise. "Aisha? Did you need something?"

She nodded. "I had heard you'd had another migraine and I came to aid you."

"How? Drugs don't usually work-"

"Not narcotics; tension points. Ones on your shoulders and neck tend to relive such pain. I would ask if I would be able to help you."

He seemed somewhat uncomfortable. "Look, I appreciate the offer, but..."

"But?"

"Well I don't really know you that well. I think is isn't really up to code on a military ship-"

"That didn't stop the Commander from bonding with the qua - Tali. And it sounds like you think that I am suggesting something more than-"

"No! I'm not! I mean, if you're not... Then I'm not. But if you were..."

She smiled at him, eyes golden liquid. "Yes?"

Kaiden shook his head. "No. Forget I said anything. Thanks for the offer, but-"

She leaned over the desk and pressed her lips into his. He grunted in surprise, but quickly recovered and brought a hand to her face, kissing her back.

They both slowly stood up, kissing one another over the space of the desk.

With long legs, she stepped over the low office desk, knocking over a terminal with her foot by accident as she climbed over.

Now standing in front of him, he wrapped his arms around her, kissing her more deeply. They stood their for length-less minutes, kissing one another, hands starting to roam the other's body as the passion sped up.

They made their way towards the bed when their hands began to remove each other's clothing, falling onto the mattress with small sounds of need.

Kaiden had been so preoccupied with Aisha that he hadn't even noticed that his migraine was gone.


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: Yeah, this is another short chapter. Sorry bout that. But, the next one WILL be big, both in word-count and plot-wise, so stay tuned, people.

* * *

**Chapter 16: Catching Smoke**

Shepard opened the link to the QEC, yawning, still not yet fully awake. After listening to Kasumi talk about Garrus' betting pool, he'd found himself quite drowsy and had opted for a good night's rest, leaving contacting Liara till morning.

It now being that time, he saw Liara fuzz into view, the pixels of the QEC wavering until they'd formed a solid image, which looked at him with an expression that was both amused and concerned.

"What, ah... what happened to you, Shepard? You seem... a little different."

He realised that he probably looked like hammered shit, what with the sun burn making his skin dark and cracked, the bandage on his shoulder under his shirt giving him a somewhat lopsided appearance, and the tired look in his eyes. Even with ample rest and the administration of drugs by an insistent Chakwas, both the walk through the wastelands and the fight with Graad had taken a heavy toll.

He'd never really gotten out of shape after the War. After a year on Rannoch building his and Tali's home and spending long days and even longer nights in bed with her, he'd started making sure that he exercised regularly. Outside of the bedroom, that is.

Paranoia of an unknown threat coming to his doorstep had made him wary of allowing his body to become something other than an efficient and brutal weapon. Although the existence of the Reapers was now gone, his violent career had made him cautious about letting his guard down; the world had a way of taking things most dear from you if you're not careful.

Still, even with regular workout routines, difficult physical labour and hand-to-hand combat with people three times his size was not something one could easily simulate on Rannoch, and as such he'd been a bit rusty with his old skills. A rustiness that had almost gotten him killed. Again.

"Shepard?" he was wrenched from his darkening thoughts when Liara gave him another look, this one only of concern.

"Sorry, I just... never mind. And the reason why I look like shit is a really long story."

"I had heard that you were on Tuchanka. Did something happen there?"

He was no longer surprised at the fact that she had access to information that had only come into existence within the past forty eight hours. He rubbed the back of his neck, smiling sheepishly. "I may have challenged a krogan Warlord to single combat."

The broker merely arched a brow, a human gesture learned from her time spent on board the Normandy. "I'm sure Tali wasn't impressed."

His smile grew, as if he enjoyed the thought of scaring the crap out of his wife and suffering the consequences of such actions. "There was some swearing and name calling. She even hit me."

Liara chuckled, her holographic form shaking its head. "Well, it seems that you haven't lost the desire to do stupid things. Now, I assume you've called me for other reasons than to tell me that you've been verbally and physically abused by your wife?"

He grinned, but his expression grew more sober as he continued speaking. "Cerberus. I'm sure you know that they've been causing a stir lately, and the... incident with the Warlord on Tuchanka might be connected to them."

"Are you talking about the Ustanok clan? I had heard that they'd gotten advanced tech to line their borders with. You think it's Cerberus helping them?"

"I know it is. Wrex told me the Ustanok were in bed with them, getting tech upgrades and such. No clue why, but Cerberus is cooperating with aliens. However, that shouldn't be a problem anymore."

Liara arched a brow again. "Indeed?"

"The Warlord I challenged was Ustanok Graad. He's dead, so Wrex has control of his people and lands now."

Her eyes widened. It seemed she knew who Graad was, or had at least heard of him, judging by her expression. "You killed _him?_ Goddess, Shepard. He was nearly a thousand years old and had never lost a challenge from another _krogan_..." She shook her head, trailing off. "But I probably shouldn't even be surprised anymore."

He smiled. "Yeah, I'm crazy. I've been told many times. Anyway, about Cerberus. Have you been able to track them or get any info on them?"

She shook her head, looking slightly annoyed. "They are extremely efficient in their operations; hit a random location, take whatever they need, then disappear. Cerberus seems to be employing the same technology on their ships as the Normandy's stealth systems, making them almost impossible to trace. Unfortunately, no government or organisation has been able to figure out how to pick up silent ships on scanners, so conventional tracking won't work."

"Of course it won't," he muttered, annoyed himself.

"Pardon?"

He spoke up. "I said of course it won't. It seems that nothing is *ever* easy. Bit of a bitch, really."

She laughed. "Just like old times, huh?"

she sobered suddenly. "I wish I could come with you. I'm just so busy here-"

"Don't worry about it. You're helping us by giving us intel on Cerberus."

Liara frowned. "That's just it. I can't, really. As I said, they appear out of nowhere and attack things like eezo ships and supply depots. All I know is that they're gathering resources, presumably to regain their lost strength. They seem to favour raiding supplies near the Terminus Systems, though they've attacked elsewhere. The most I can tell you in terms of a plan of action is to hover around the Terminus Systems' borders and wait for an attack." she sighed. "I'm sorry I can't be of more help."

"It's alright. I'm sure something will turn up."

* * *

"So we're just going to fly around and hope to find some trouble to solve?" Garrus asked, stabbing a fork at his breakfast as they sat around the mess hall.

Shepard shrugged, then scowled as it jarred his sore shoulder. It had been healing quickly, but it still hurt to move. "Basically."

"Sort of like what we did when hunting down Saren." Tali remarked, sounding amused. She sat across from Shepard, picking at her food with distaste. Finally free of having to not eat her meals in paste form, Tali was not happy with reverting to eating food cooked to such a state.

Garrus chuckled. "Yeah, except we're not complete rookies this time. We actually kind of know what we're doing now."

The sound of doors opening interrupted further input, a sound that came from the direction of Kaiden's quarters.

The owner of said quarters stepped out, looking thoroughly pleased with himself.

"Morning."

Shepard saw Kasumi give him a look that said _I told you so,_ but he ignored her.

"I see your migraine has cleared up." The Commander commented.

Kaiden nodded. "Yeah. Feeling pretty good, actually." he said as he walked to the small kitchen area, poking around the fridge in search of food.

Kasumi snickered into her hand, and Shepard saw Garrus and Tali look at her strangely, both of whom hadn't been privy to last night's conversation, nor the sight of Aisha exiting Alenko's quarters.

The thief recovered, looking up from her meal to see Kaiden sitting down with food in hand. "Any particular reason?" she asked, suppressed amusement in her voice.

Alenko looked at her, confused. "Not really... Just a good day."

"_Really?_" She asked, drawing the word out dramatically. "There isn't any reason?"

Kaiden opened his mouth to speak, but stopped when his eyes fell on something. Shepard turned to see what he was staring at to find Aisha walking into the mess, following everyone's example and finding a meal in the kitchen. She nodded to the room. "Good morning." Toure said simply.

Her golden eyes flashed as she looked at Kaiden, a small smile forming on dark, full lips. "Major."

"Toure."

There wouldn't have been anything abnormal about the exchange, except that their gazes lingered a little longer than it should have on one another. A kind of look that only people who'd spent the night together usually shared.

_I will be damned_. Shepard thought, a grin tugging at his lips. Seems the Normandy was a haven for intimate get-togethers. Him and Tali, Gabby and Ken, and now Kaiden and Aisha.

"I think I shall eat in the lounge; I quite enjoy the view." now armed with a meal, Toure gave Kaiden a heated, lingering look and glided out of the mess hall, hips swaying.

Kaiden got up rather abruptly, then looked around at the tables occupants, blushing slightly. "I uh... I like the view, too." he said, picking up his food.

"I bet you do." Kasumi said, seemingly unable to keep her thoughts to herself any longer, grinning from ear to ear.

The blood rose to a painful-looking red in Kaiden's face, who quickly exited the mess.

"I knew it! I so knew it!" The thief said, looking pleased with herself.

Garrus cast a glance at Shepard, the ridges of his face scrunched in confusion. "Uh... Are they...?"

"Seems like it." He replied, unable to keep back a small grin.

Tali's face was priceless. "They're _sleeping_ together? They barely know one another!"

"To each is own." He said democratically, digging into his breakfast.

* * *

It had been a week since Shepard had contacted Liara, and the Normandy had spent almost all of that time floating around the borders of the Terminus systems, waiting. For anything. The crew was beginning to go insane with boredom.

But deep into third shift, when most of the ship's crew members were asleep, they finally found something.


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: Whoop whoop! Big(ish) chapter; I had to chop it in half with the chapter coming up because the word count was through the roof and it's easier to edit two semi-small chapters than one honking big one.

Ever since I outlined this and knew it was going to happen, I've been excited to write it, so I hope you enjoy reading it as much I enjoyed writing it.

And yeah, I know I said I wouldn't be updating this as frequently because of school, but whatever. I really wanted to write this chapter so I made sure I had time to.

Et Voila!

* * *

**Chapter 17: Corporeal Shadows**

He stood on a cliff face that overlooked the ocean, holding the hand of a faceless child.

Rannoch, he decided. They must be on Rannoch.

Tikkun's sunset rays splashed the surface of the water with oceanic diamonds, and in the distance, the form of a long-dead Reaper lay sticking out of the water, remnants of a nightmare that had stained the entire face of the galaxy, disrupting the sparkling image of the calm waves.

The child who's hand he was holding - a little girl, and a quarian at that, judging by her small, bowed legs and tiny hand consumed by his - looked up at him.

Her face was beautiful and yet held a vague quality that dreams always seem to have when looking a person one's mind has fabricated. She pointed to the mechanical ghost, and opened her mouth to speak.

A beeping sound came from her small frame, insistent and loud.

Confusion set in before the image of the little girl and the sunset dissolved as he snapped awake.

An orange glow illuminated the dark room, which he realised was his omni-tool. Bringing it to his face and squinting at the sudden blare of light, he read the message that had disrupted his slumber.

He nudged Tali, who grumbled at him. "Tali, wake up."

"No." she murmured sleepily.

He smiled, nudging her again. "Joker's picked up some radio chatter from a supply cruiser. Says they're in distress and need help. It might be Cerberus."

"Then I give you permission to go check it out." she said grumpily, pulling the covers over her head to shade her eyes from the dim light Shepard had activated in the cabin.

He chuckled, giving her shoulder a squeeze as he got up and pulled clothes on. "I'll go bother Garrus and Kaiden for this one. Don't worry, us men will save the day." he said, a grin forming on his face.

Tali poked her head out from the covers, hair dishevelled, and gave him a glare, one that clearly said _don't start with that crap._

Now fully dressed and still wearing a grin, he walked over and kissed her. "I'll be back soon."

Her expression soften a little and she smiled at him. "Be careful."

"Always."

He stepped outside of the cabin and into the small anti-chamber between his quarters and the lift.

Shepard sent out a message to both Garrus and Kaiden, telling them to get their asses moving and into armour ASAP, marking the messages as alerts so they'd beep until they'd been opened. He also added to Kaiden's to ask Aisha to join them as well, knowing the two would probably be sharing Kaiden's cabin.

He took the elevator to Deck 5, where he put on armour and attached guns to himself, noting the lack of crew about the shuttle bay; even Cortez was absent. However, it was late into third shift and almost everyone was asleep, so he enjoyed the quiet as he got himself ready for battle.

* * *

Kaiden jerked awake, an incessant beep greeting his ears. He checked his omni-tool and looked over the message he'd been sent.

He turned the bedside lamp on and went to go put clothes on.

"Kaiden? What is going on?"

He heard a drowsy voice behind him and turned to see golden tiger eyes regarding his half-clad form.

He smiled at her. "Commander says there's a supply cruiser sending out an SOS and he thinks it might be Cerberus causing the distress, so Garrus, him and I are gonna go check it out." he turned back around to rummage through his drawers for a shirt. "He also asked if you could come along."

He was met with silence as he finally found a shirt and pulled it on.

He turned again to look at her. She was naked and was only covered by the bed sheets, simply staring at him with a thoughtful expression. Although she didn't regularly sleep in his cabin, tonight she'd fallen asleep beside him after their rigorous activities.

"So... What d'you say?" he asked finally when she didn't answer him.

"I think perhaps I shall stay here. I am feeling somewhat unwell."

He looked at her with concern. "Are you okay? Do you want me to get Dr. Chakwas?"

She shook her head, smiling slightly. "Thank you, but no. I will sleep and see what the morning brings. If I do not feel well still, then I shall go see her."

He nodded. "Alright. Well, I hope you feel better, and I'll see you soon."

She gave him another smile, her teeth white against dark skin. "And I will wait here."

* * *

"Where's Toure?" Shepard asked as he watched both Kaiden and Garrus attach weapons to their armour.

Kaiden shrugged. "Said she didn't feel well, so she's gonna stay in bed to sleep it off."

"Maybe she pulled something. You know, from all that exercise." Garrus suggested, smirking as he stowed his sniper on his back.

The blood rose in Kaiden's face, but he said nothing as he finished securing his weapons.

Shepard had hoped to see Aisha in combat to learn her fighting style, as he had learned those things from all of his crew members, but it seemed that it would be just the three of them. Which was fine, as he needed heavy-hitters rather than infiltrators such as Miranda and Kasumi. _Or grumpy engineers_, he thought, smiling to himself as the trio walked towards the prepped shuttle.

"And where's Tali? Don't tell me she pulled something too." Garrus asked as they climbed into the shuttle.

Shepard chuckled. "No, she just didn't want to get up, is all. She isn't really a morning person."

"Well, I wouldn't call this morning, but I see your point." Kaiden said, sitting down on one of the benches as Shepard and Garrus climbed into their respective seats of pilot and co-pilot.

The bay door opened and they flew to towards the supply cruiser, thoughts quiet as they prepared to face the upcoming enemy.

* * *

Despite Tali's insistence that she stay in bed to sleep, she soon became too worried about Shepard to fall back into her previously deep slumber, and so she decided to make the most of her fretful insomnia and do something productive.

Thus, she was currently down in engineering, tapping away at her console. Although they'd fixed all the systems in the ship during the slow week of flying around and looking for Cerberus, she still wanted to make sure she hadn't missed anything that could decrease the efficiency of the drive core.

The three other engineers were currently asleep, and so the solitude left her thoughts to wander, seemingly of their own volition.

She started thinking about the conversation she'd had with Shepard a couple of days ago as she read through the scans on her screen.

"_Tali," he began, looking nervous. _

_They were just getting ready to go to sleep, and he sat on the edge of the bed, looking at her as she undid the clasps of her envirosuit. Although she didn't really need her suit anymore and rarely wore the mask, she wore it both out of cultural ritual, as her people were still making the slow transition out of their restrictive suits, as well as practicality. If she wore the suit, then she didn't need to pack clothes for herself._

_"What do you about having a kid?" her husband blurted suddenly, looking surprised himself, as if he hadn't expected the thought to be voiced._

_She started and glanced up from the belt she'd unhooked, staring at him. "Shepard... we can't have kids. You know that."_

_He waved a hand. "I didn't mean naturally. I meant, what if we adopted? Not right now, obviously. We'd have to wait till after this business with Cerberus was over." _

_She didn't say anything for a long moment, so he stood up and walked over to her, putting his hands on her shoulders. "I can't give you a child of your own, and I'm..." he trailed off, his jaw clenching and unclenching as he tried to control a hidden emotion. "I'm angry, I'm sorry... that I can't... but I can try, at least. If that's what you want."_

_She looked at him, his eyes a deep blue, anger and desperation and a multitude of other emotions she couldn't quite pinpoint swirling in them, like flotsam trapped in the powerful currents of a great sea._

_"Yes... yes, I want to."_

_He smiled at her. "We could do an artificial insemination, if you want. Then you'd at least have a child to call your own."_

_She shook her head, somewhat violently. "No. The only man's child I'd ever have would be yours." she reached up to touch his face, smiling back at him._

_"You can't though, Tali. I can't give you one."_

_"Then we'll adopt. The child would equally be ours, instead of only one of us being the true parent."_

_"I don't mind, you know. Our son or daughter would still be as dear to me as if it were my own." he replied, taking her hand and stroking his thumb along her palm, staring at it._

_"I know you would, but I do mind. And I would like to adopt. We'd even be helping a child who's already lost their parents at such a young age." she said, trying to keep the sadness out of her voice. Yes, she was quite aware of what it felt like to lose a parent in youth._

_He smiled at her, eyes glowing. "Alright. Let's have one."_

Tali smiled as the memory faded, remembering the look in his eyes. How happy he was, not just about the prospect of creating a family, but also being able to give her a child in the only way that he could.

A small lump formed in her throat and she felt her eyes sting, thinking of his desire to try and make her happy in any way possible. _Keelah, I love that man_.

The door behind her opened, and as she turned she saw Aisha appear and walk over to her.

She didn't really like the woman, but she always strived to be civil with her. "What are you doing up? Can't sleep?"

Aisha nodded, a slight smile on her face as she stood beside Tali to look at the console the engineer was working at.

"No. But I hope that you have more success at it than I." she replied.

Tali's brows drew together at the odd statement. She was about to ask what the woman meant when she felt a hand at the back of her head and suddenly her face was slammed into the hard surface of the console, feeling the crunch of her nose as the bone cracked.

She slid to her knees, unconsciousness taking hold of her mind as she collapsed onto the cool metal of the floors.

* * *

Aisha hefted the lithe form of the quarian over her shoulder, heading towards the lift.

When Kaiden had woken her and said that he, Garrus and the Commander would be leaving the ship, her heart had sped with excitement and her mind had raced at all the opportunities she could take advantage of.

She stepped onto the lift and waited for it to take her down. She flexed the neural muscles of her brain, feeling the familiar rush of power as her biotics came into being, sparking darkly around her, shrouding her into a corporeal shadow. Even with most of the crew asleep, it was always good to be cautious.

The lift opening, she made her way across the dimly lit Shuttle Bay, walking towards the unused shuttle.

Opening the doors and placing the unconscious quarian on the bench, she stepped into the cockpit and sat in the pilot's seat.

Activating her omni-tool, she started up a program that wouldn't alert the sarcastic pilot that the other shuttle was in use, nor would he know that she was opening the bay door and zooming out into the stars.

She looked back at the quarian as she flew out in space, thinking.

Yes, there was only one person who could truly kill the Great Commander Shepard, and she was lying on a bench with a bloody nose.

All the quarian had to do was die and the man would lose his seemingly inexhaustible will to live.

* * *

Don't worry if you're confused, because I am too.

Just kidding. The reason Aisha gets it on with Kaiden will be revealed in later chapters, so stick around and you might find out.

Reviews are always appreciated, and I love that you guys are doing just that. It's nice to see people enjoying what I write.


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: Please tell me what you think of Tali in this chapter. I wanted to make her seem as if she needed help without making her one of those fainting, delicate "oh please help me" types, who are just... Ugh. Don't even get me started on those cliche damsel women. They make me bat-crap crazy. And I never got the impression that Tali was one of those to begin with.

Anyway, enough of my female rage. On with the show!

* * *

**Chapter 18: The Hunt Begins**

"Well that was a waste of time." Garrus piped up as they got out of the shuttle.

They were now back in the Shuttle Bay of the Normandy. The ship that had been sending out an SOS signal had simply lost power, and had used an old battery-powered communicator to send out a general distress call.

A loss of power in the middle of space was dangerous, and left without it long enough, fatal. However, the problem could not be solved by shooting people, and so Shepard had stood in the cockpit of the _Aosta_ in full combat armour speaking to the Captain and pilot for two hours while Garrus and Kaiden helped the engineers fix the loss of power.

"We saved the crew on the ship." Shepard pointed out.

"From a couple of overheated power conduits." the turian retorted, sounding amused. "I've been told that they're quite vicious, so it's good that we got there in time."

"Uh, where's the other shuttle?" Kaiden asked suddenly, looking around the bay.

Shepard and Garrus looked around too. "Maybe there was another distress call and the rest of the team went to go check it out?" Garrus suggested, but he sounded doubtful.

"Then Joker would've told me when I radioed him that we were coming back." Shepard replied, pulling up his omni-tool and opening the comms to the cockpit.

"Joker, where's the other shuttle?"

There was a pause for a moment. Finally, "What are talking about? They're both in the bay."

"No they're not. The only one that's here is the one that we used."

"Uh... is it behind a crate? 'Cuz the reports on my screen say they're both there."

Shepard sighed, now irritated. "Joker. It's not here."

"Okay, okay. And can we talk about this later? It's like 0500 right now and I haven't even had coffee yet. We should solve this after breakfast."

Shepard sighed again. "I'll be up on Deck 3 to speak with the crew in a minute."

With that he closed the comms, and the trio pealed out of their armour in silence, all quietly wondering where the other shuttle was.

Shepard began to get worried. A shuttle randomly flying off without Joker even knowing about it? The only way the pilot wouldn't be alerted to a shuttle activation or the bay door opening would be a system malfunction. Or a well-designed program that disrupted such alerts.

He brushed the thought away. He would just have to ask Tali if a system hadn't been completely fixed after the EMP and would worry about who actually flew the shuttle out of the bay later.

"Commander, you're back! You gotta come to Deck 4, quick." Adams' voice came from his omni-tool, sounding panicked.

Fear started to trickle into his chest. Something was definitely not right.

"Roger, on my way." he responded, walking into the lift with only half of his armour still on.

A couple of slow minutes later found him in Engineering, staring at something that made both rage and terror seize his chest.

Blood on the floor and console, which had a slight dent in it.

This sight started to make his vision tunnel as he stared at it with growing horror.

The blood wasn't human. It was the same colour, but when he dabbed a finger to it and brought it his nose, it smelled differently. It was sweeter, somehow. Not the usual copper tang of human blood, but something more akin to blood mixed with sugar.

Meaning that it was Tali's. And that if it was, someone had hurt her.

Adrenaline entered his thoughts as fear gripped him, making him wonder who on the ship would want to hurt her.

Only one person came to mind. The only one who had not yet fully gained his trust.

He looked up and met Adams' eyes. "Where's Aisha?"

Adams flinched slightly, whether from the feral look in the Commander's gaze or the hardened steel of his words Shepard wasn't sure, but anger and fear blocked out the shame he would normally have felt at making his crew scared simply by being in his presence.

"I... don't know, sir. Last I saw she went to Kaiden's quarters when third shift started."

He nodded. "I'll be back."

"Wait! What's happening?" Adams called.

"I don't know. I'm going to find out." he replied without turning.

Stepping out of Engineering and punching the lift button for Deck 3, Shepard's brain made a small side note of something that his periphery had noticed.

Whenever the topic of Aisha and Kaiden had come up in the past week, which was usually at the mess tables, and Donnelly overheard, he always made some sort of smart-ass comment, even if Kaiden or Toure were in earshot.

Yet he didn't now. Shepard thought maybe it was due to the blood present on the floor, but the Commander had seen Gabby and Ken flinch as well when they saw the look on his face.

* * *

Shepard now stood clad in a regular crewman's uniform with the entirety of the crew on Deck 3. The only two missing were Aisha and Tali.

"It seems we've been betrayed," Shepard started, but was interrupted by Kaiden, who stood up from his chair and spoke.

"You don't know that it was her, Shepard. Kasumi and Miranda are still trying to look through the video feeds on the ship-"

"Which they can't do because someone disrupted the camera feeds." he replied.

"It wasn't her!" Kaiden said, taking a few steps forward to face the Commander. "There could've been a stowaway on the ship or something!"

"Where the hell would they hide?"

"I don't know! Just don't jump to conclusions. It could be something else."

"What the fuck else could it be?" he snarled. The look on Kaiden's face made Shepard take a deep breath and try to force himself to be calm. "Look, I know that you care about her and that it isn't good to assume things. But the evidence is pretty clear about what happened."

Alenko's hand balled into fists at his sides and he spoke angrily. "It's not her."

"You're going to let that denial allow Tali to be potentially hurt by a woman you met two weeks ago? We're getting intel and going after Toure. And so help me God I will put a bullet in her head if she's harmed my wife."

Kaiden's eyes burned and suddenly he lunged at him.

Shepard's back slammed against the med bay window, feeling the glass crack under the strain. He pushed back, shoving Kaiden away and landing a punch to the man's nose.

He felt cartilage and bone give under his knuckles with a crack, and Kaiden howled and retaliated with blow to Shepard's face, connecting to his left cheekbone and guaranteeing a black eye.

He saw Garrus grab Kaiden and throw him against the kitchen counter, putting a taloned hand against the biotic's chest, making sure he stayed where he was.

"Spirits, what's wrong with you? I know you like the woman but from what we've gathered it points to Toure. Now I don't know why she'd kidnap Tali but we're going to find out. I hope we're wrong and that Aisha is innocent but we don't have anyone else to track at the moment, so we're going after her to see where it leads us."

Kaiden stared at Garrus with a fiery look but the turian didn't back down. After a moment, Alenko relaxed and the anger in his eyes started to fade.

Garrus took his hand off of the man's chest and slowly backed up, giving Kaiden enough space to stand.

He and Shepard stared at each other for a moment, not moving or speaking.

Chakwas stood up and went over to Kaiden, touching his shoulder. "Come on, in the med-bay." she said, voice stern. She pointed a finger at Shepard. "You stay put. He's worse so I'll look after him first, then I'll see what I can do about that black eye you're getting."

Without further comment, Kaiden and Chakwas walked away, heading to the med-bay. Once inside, she tinted the windows so that the Shepard and Kaiden could no longer glare at one another. The crack in one of the windows made the tint warped, but the effect was still the same.

Garrus touched Shepard's shoulder and spoke to the room, its occupants stunned into silence at the fact that someone had actually went so far as to attack their Commanding Officer. "We'll be back in a minute."

Garrus motioned for his friend to follow him, which he did so gladly.

They arrived at the Port Observation Deck, Garrus' intentions becoming clear as he opened the door and walked over to the bar.

"Figure you needed a minute to cool down." he said, pouring and passing Shepard a drink, then turning to look for something dextro-friendly.

"I do. Thanks." he said gratefully, picking up the short glass and taking a generous mouthful.

He choked as it burned down his throat, sputtering slightly.

"You realise that that's whiskey, not cheap beer? You can't drink it like water." Garrus commented as he watched Shepard struggle not to spit his drink onto the counter.

He swallowed, coughing. "I'm aware of that, yes."

That sat there in tense silence for a moment, sipping at their drinks.

"Do you think it's really her?" Garrus asked finally. He didn't need to clarify who he was talking about.

"I hope not... but who else could it be? The only two gone are her and Tali, and although Tali doesn't particularly like Aisha, she promised to be civil with her. I can't imagine her beating Toure up and driving off in a shuttle." he said, lips tugging upwards a little with the mental image his words produced.

"What about Kaiden? If Toure is a traitor, then well... she can't be trusted. And if she hurt Tali..."

Shepard's fists curled unconsciously, but he forced them to stop when he heard the glass in his hand crack. He looked down and saw a long crack spiderweb up the length of it.

"Then she won't be alive for very long." he said simply, sighing. "And I don't know what to do about Kaiden. I get that it'll be tough taking her down, but he's only known her a couple of weeks, whereas he's been friends with Tali for years. All I ask of my crew is to stay loyal to one another, and Kaiden is part of my crew."

"Do you think she's working for Cerberus? I mean, we made some enemies during the Reaper War, but that had been mostly Cerberus. Who else would want to attack you, or those close to you?"

"I don't know, Garrus. Maybe it is Cerberus. They already tried to kill me."

And if they couldn't kill him, they'd take away the one person in the galaxy that he couldn't live without.

It seemed that the world had a way of taking things most dear from you if you're not careful.

* * *

Her head hurt.

She groaned, also noticing the throbbing in her nose as she began to regain consciousness. She opened her eyes and blinked and squinted in the light, everything appearing very fuzzy to her.

"She's waking up, ma'am." a close-sounding voice said, startling her.

She blink again, her vision starting to clear. A man kneeled in front of her, examining her face.

She noticed the Cerberus logo on his shirt and decided that she was suddenly uncomfortable with his proximity.

Tali pulled back her leg and kicked out, her foot connecting with the man's chest. He reeled back almost comically and landed heavily on the floor, clutching at his ribs and groaning.

She stumbled to her feet, unsteady. She noticed that she was in a small glass enclosure, and that she had been lying on a low, rough cot. She also noticed that the floor-to-ceiling glass door was open.

Without paying any mind to the confusion swirling in her brain, demanding to know what was going on, she moved as quickly as she could without falling, heading towards the door.

She was stopped when her foot caught on something and she crashed to the floor, head painfully jarring at the impact. A hand grabbed her ankle and suddenly she was face to face with the man she'd kicked, his weight pressing her to the floor as he had jumped on her. The way he looked at her both repulsed and terrified her.

"You stupid bitch. You'll regret doing that." he raised an arm as if to punch her, but a dark hand grabbed his wrist, stopping his assault.

Tali looked up, confused. She saw Aisha standing over both of them. "Do not harm the quarian."

"She kicked me." he protested, still half-lying atop her.

"I do not care. Get off the floor."

He sighed and none-too-gently shoved away from Tali and got to his feet.

Tali moved to sit up, but Toure raised a hand and held her in place with shadowed sparks.

Without another word, Aisha and the man walked out of the room and locked it, and only then was she able to move her limbs again.

She sat up slowly, a hand pressed to her head, and leaned against a glass wall.

She started to sift through her mind in search of answers. She remembered being in Engineering, then talking with Aisha, then a hand grabbing the back of her head and slamming it into the console.

_Aisha's with Cerberus,_ she thought, rather calm given the circumstances. The logo on the man's shoulder had been unmistakable, and he'd said "ma'am" and listened to Toure as if she were a superior.

She wondered why Cerberus would want her, and when the answer came to her, her blood ran cold.

_To lure Shepard here_.

There was no doubt in her mind that he would come looking for her. Usually she could hold her own quite well, but she was injured and had little options.

She was stuck in some Cerberus jail with no weapon and - yes, no omni-tool, she checked off mentally, noticing the small band that was usually around her wrist that held the interface for the device was missing. She had what was likely a concussion and a broken nose.

Her hand gingerly felt along the tender cartilage and realised that someone had set the bone into a straight line and administered medi-gel to it.

The thought of the man she'd kicked touching her face to realign the bone and mend the wound made her nauseated. He'd had a certain look in his eyes that made Tali instantly disgusted by him.

It was desire. But not the kind of heat she'd seen in Shepard's eyes, which held both love and male appreciation. No, it was a slimy kind of heat, one that told her that she should be wary around him if he ever came near her again.

She'd just have to make sure she aimed her kicks lower next time.

* * *

"Oh God, John. I'll talk to Hackett right away."

"Already done." Shepard replied, looking at the holographic form of his mother.

He'd went to the QEC and contacted a number of his allies, asking them to try and find any information on Cerberus. So far, he'd spoken with Wrex, Liara, and Hackett.

"Alright. Then I'll make sure the fleets have been mobilised. We need to take down Cerberus once and for all."

"Agreed."

She looked at him with concern, smiling at him. "We'll get her back. Don't worry. Just be careful when you go storming into Cerberus HQ."

He smiled back at her, but she noted with some sadness that it didn't reach his eyes. "Will do."

Hannah cocked her head. "What else is bothering you? I mean besides Cerberus."

He chuckled. His mother knew him far too well. "The woman who kidnapped Tali is... intimate with one of my crew members. He isn't taking it well."

"Ah." she said, the one syllable conveying more understanding than any words ever could. "That's... not good. How long have they...?"

"About a week."

"And how long has this crew member known Tali?"

"About seven or eight years." replied, already knowing where she was going with this.

"Then I'm sure he'll make the right decision and stay loyal to you and Tali."

"Maybe... however, Kaiden's the reason that I have a black eye."

His mother arched a brow. "Really? And how did that come about?"

He rubbed the back of his neck, sheepish. He noted that his mother smiled at the familiar gesture. "We may have gotten into an argument."

"Argument," she shook her head, breathing a laugh. "Testosterone poisoning, I tell you."

He laughed again. "He hit me first."

"Well then I hope he had to sit in the corner for recess." she smiled at him. "Alright, go on and save the galaxy. I'll make sure you've got back up. I love you, John."

"Same to you mom."

* * *

Next chapter is gonna be a mega-Tali one, which is super awesome. Getting into a bit of darker stuff though, so be warned; it ain't going to be pretty.


	19. Chapter 19

A/N: Okay! This chapter was both an enjoyment and a pain to write, for different reasons. Enjoyment being that I got to write a side of Shepard people don't usually see in game (if you go Paragon, that is).

And the bad part, which is about Tali. It seems that many people think that she'll be raped or tortured or something horrible. This is not the case. Yes, there will be conflict, and it will not be very nice, but she's way too cute and awesome for me to ever write something _that_ awful. I've planned what's going to happen next almost since I started writing this fic, and it has some impact. I didn't enjoy writing it but it IS an important to the story.

And the "dark" part of these coming chapters pertain more to Shepard's mindset than anything else.

Anyway, start reading.

* * *

**Chapter 19: The Beat of a War Drum**

Shepard looked around at the War Room's occupants.

Wrex, Hackett, Liara, his mother, and Raan were all speaking to one another, exchanging any information they had found on Cerberus.

The ground team was there as well, but Kaiden wouldn't look him in the eye whenever Shepard glanced at him. He'd have to deal with that problem, but not now. Other, more important things occupied his mind.

He heard them all talking, but the words didn't seem to register in his brain, simply filtering as white noise.

It had been forty eight hours since Tali and Aisha had disappeared, and fear had begun to numb his senses as time went one. His focus was singular in getting her back, and even then he was having trouble concentrating, his thoughts pulling him into himself, wondering if she was still alive. Or if she was, what state she was in.

"John!"

He looked up to see everyone staring at him. He realised his mother had been speaking to him for the past five minutes.

"Yes?"

"Did you here what I said?"

"Not really."

She signed, looking at him with concern. "Maybe we should continue this later. You're exhausted, you need sleep-"

"No!" Many of the room's occupants flinched at his tone, and even Wrex seemed surprised at the outburst, one of the few who hadn't twitched at his words.

He forced himself to sound calm, though it was the last thing he felt. "We need to find her - them," he added, eyes flicking to Kaiden. "I can rest later."

"We found it, Shepard. Or at least how to figure out how to find it." Liara said.

"Their base?"

She nodded. "Yes. About twelve hours ago a message was sent out to thousands of recipients. The message was coded, but I've cracked it, with help from Miranda and Kasumi. It was a Cerberus message, ordering all personnel to a specific coordinate somewhere in the Exodus Cluster. I'm still trying to pinpoint where it is exactly."

Shepard frowned. "You decoded it in twelve hours? I thought Cerberus encryptions were extremely advanced."

"They usually are," Miranda said. "But this one wasn't. I think it was on purpose."

"To lure us in." he concluded.

Liara nodded. "Yes. I think the reason Tali was taken there was to make you follow her."

"So they could kill me, obviously." he said, frowning.

"Wait, are we sure that she's been taken by Cerberus?" Garrus asked. "I don't know who else it could be, but we shouldn't just assume it was them."

"But it is." Raan said. "I looked at the message myself. It ordered all Cerberus personnel back to the base to prepare for a defensive strike against the Commander." she gestures to Shepard. "Why else would they be preparing to defend their ships against you?"

"Do you think it's a decoy? What if Tali isn't there?" he asked.

"Then I guess we jumped to conclusions." Kaiden said, speaking for the first time. His words weren't technically directed at Shepard, but the message was clear.

It was a testament to his self-restraint that he didn't fly across the room and knock Kaiden to the floor. He understood the position the man was in and to an extent he sympathised, but his current state of mind did not allow for him to feel particularly understanding towards Alenko.

"Spit it out, Kaiden. If you want to say something, then by all means, do."

The biotic sighed. "Look, I want to make sure that Tali's safe just as much as you do," he hurried to continue when he saw Shepard about to interrupt. "but I want to make sure that we have all the facts first before we go in guns blazing. We might shoot someone who isn't involved."

"We don't have time to find all the facts, Kaiden! She could be dead already!" He voiced rose as he spoke, anger and fear fueling his words. "And I'm not going to wait around to find out if Aisha's innocent or not while Tali's trapped in some Cerberus base! I'm tired of being diplomatic and finding a goddamn peaceful solution when every time I do I have to watch a friend die! Mordin, Thane, Legion! They all died so people would stop fucking fighting! I'm not risking Tali's life to find out if someone I met two weeks ago is a nice person!" he stopped himself, choking back more words before he said something he regretted, jaw clenching and unclenching as he attempted to stop the flood of anger.

Kaiden stared at him, looking like he didn't know what to say.

Finally, after a tense minute, he said something. "Okay, Shepard. We'll do it your way. Just... be careful where you point your gun."

He nodded, somewhat grudgingly. It was hardly a mended fence, but it was something.

* * *

Tali stated up at the ceiling as she lied on her horribly uncomfortable cot.

She'd paced the entire room, scouring it for any warp or weakness that she could exploit and try to escape, but everything was locked down tight. She couldn't even break the glass; it was about three or four inches thick and most likely bullet proof.

She didn't know how long she'd been in here, but she was beginning to get hungry, and wondered if they'd just keep her in here till she starved.

No, she decided, they wouldn't. If Cerberus had wanted her dead they'd have done it already.

Her mind wandered, often to thoughts of Shepard. He was likely going crazy by now, and she wondered what he was doing. She both dreaded and hoped that he'd come for her. She knew she wouldn't get out of here without help, but the whole reason Aisha brought her here was to lure Shepard.

_Aisha_.

Anger brimmed inside her and she tried to force it down. Not only had the woman smashed her face into a computer console and brought her here, but she also wanted to kill her husband.

Her mind was filled with a plethora of quarian curses that Raan would most definitely shake her had at. As she mentally pictured smashing Aisha's beautiful face into a table to see what the curvy human thought of such an experience, her eyelids drooped and she began to doze off. She didn't want to sleep, but the somnolence persisted and she finally relented as she sank into dreams.

••••

She rubbed at gritty eyes, her drowsy mind confused as to where she was. As consciousness took hold she remembered where she was, realisation forming an icy ball in the pit of her stomach.

She had fallen asleep for who knows how long, and her limbs felt a little stiff. She stretched on the cot and sat up, her head still giving off a dull throb. Even with the medical aid they'd administered she still felt-

She wasn't alone.

She saw him standing there, a plate of food in his hand, looking at her. It was the man who she'd seen before. His name was Saunders, she knew; she'd heard someone call him that.

He would be attractive if he wasn't so... disturbing, she thought. Close-cropped auburn hair and pale blue eyes, strong features. And a look in his face that chilled her soul.

Fear shot through her chest at his sudden appearance, and he smiled as he saw it flash across her face before she could hide it.

She sat up, feet on the floor in case she had to move quickly. "What do you want?"

Saunders took a step towards her.

"Stay away from me." she said warningly, proud that her voice didn't waver.

"I just want to give you some food." he said politely.

"I'm not hungry," she lied, still not looking away from him. She would not back down.

"You've been in here for a whole day; you must be." he said, taking another step.

She stood up and casually leaned against the wall, crossing her arms. "Quarians don't need to eat as often as humans." that was another lie, but he probably didn't know that.

He set the plate down on a small table, still looking at her. "You know, you're people are quite interesting. Can you tell me more?"

His words echoed Shepard's when he'd asked her that in the SR1. She clamped down on the thought. _Don't ever compare this man to John._

"Go look on the extranet."

He laughed. "That's a little rude."

"You haven't given me a reason to be polite."

"No, I suppose I haven't. Why don't we start now?"

She wanted him to leave. "I like it the way things are."

Anger sparked in his eyes, and he quickly concealed it. But not quickly enough.

Her heart sped up. She wasn't exactly sure why she was so scared, but something about the man made her wish she had a gun with her.

He took another step towards her and she forced her self not to flinch. He was only a few feet away from her now. "That's not a very forgiving attitude. But you're a woman, so I suppose I can't really expect more of you."

She bit back a caustic reply and made herself sound calm, simply saying, "I guess you can't."

"You know, the boss said that I can't kill you, which is really a shame because a little slut like you deserves it."

His comment sent adrenaline flooding into her veins. He had said the words so calmly, as of he were talking about the weather. But she could see him starting to become angry, and she had her back to the wall. She needed to figure something out, fast.

"That doesn't mean I can't play with you a little." he walked up to her, so close that their noses almost touched, and he reached up a hand to stroke her hair.

"You've got a nice ass, quarian. I wonder what the rest of you looks like."

"Get away from me." she said loudly, side stepping away from him, but he braced a hand on the wall to stop her.

"When I'm done I will." his other hand snaked around and squeezed her rear.

She uncrossed her hands and shoved at his chest, but he braced his feet on the ground and pushed towards her, pressing his mouth to hers with such force that his teeth scraped her lips and she tasted blood.

She beat on his chest and tried to land a punch to his face but he grabbed her hand, other going to her breast and twisting it savagely. He shoved a knee between her legs and she felt something hard against her thigh.

Terror and rage boiled in her veins and she bit down on his lip as hard as she could, tasting the copper tang of his blood.

He grunted and pulled back, giving her enough room to bring up a knee between his legs.

His thigh moved to block it and he grabbed her, tossing her roughly to the floor.

"Cunt," he spat at her. "Try that again and I'll kill you, orders or no."

She did try it again, her foot connecting with his knee, locking it. He fell, but used his other leg to push himself towards her.

He fell atop her, his weight pinning her arms down.

"Fuck you." he snarled in her ear and shoved a hand into his pocket. It came out holding a knife. "I'm cutting this suit open and then I'm gonna do the same to you when I'm finished."

She bucked and yawed under him, trying to free her arms so that she could defend herself, but he was too strong. His free hand clamped on her thigh with bruising strength, trying to force her legs apart.

She reared her head and bit down hard on his nose, forcing down bile when she tasted blood and sweat. He howled, shaking his head furiously to try and make her let go. He held up the knife and dragged it down her arm, making her scream and unlatch her teeth.

She heard a bang from somewhere behind her and suddenly his weight was no long pressing her down.

"I said not to touch her! How dare you disobey me!" She heard Aisha scream, though she couldn't see the women as she lie there on the ground, frozen in shock.

She turned her head to see Saunders writhing on the floor, dark sparks swirling around him. He cried out in agony as they dug into his flesh, shadowed ribbons cutting him in a multitude of different places.

She sat there watching for a minute, her mind both muddied and clear as adrenaline was wont to make one's thoughts behave. She was shocked, but some part of her watched the man howl on the floor with savage glee.

Finally, the biotic assault stopped. His muscles relaxed and he sat there panting, small whimpers coming from him.

Toure went to stand over him, her back now to Tali.

"Get up." she demanded.

He said nothing, simply lying there.

"I said get up!" she kicked him in the stomach, voice raised in anger.

He groaned, but got a hand under himself. Slowly, he sat up. He used his hands to support him against the wall as he slid up it, legs pushing his body off the ground. Now half standing-half leaning, he spoke. "I was just-"

Aisha slapped him. "Touch the quarian again and you shall wish for death long before you are allowed to die. Now move. Out." she gestured, stepping aside to let him past.

He did so, slowly walking out of the room, not looking at Tali, who still lay on the ground.

Toure's golden eyes flicked towards her, gaze searching her face.

She stood there looking at Tali, who realised that there was a hint of fear in the woman's eyes. *Fear? What is she afraid of?* she thought.

Then it was gone and Aisha looked away, walking past her and out of the room, closing and locking the door.

Tali lie there for an eternal moment, brain and body frozen with shock.

When the muscles in her legs started to seize from her whole body being tensed, she began sitting up, careful of the wound in her arm. Now with her knees drawn to her chest, she pushed herself towards her cot, leaning on the wall beside it.

She looked down at her arm and saw blood trickling from the wound, but it wasn't very deep. However, it was long, stretching from her shoulder and nearly reaching her elbow.

She began to shake. Shock started to wear off and she wrapped her arms around her knees, ignoring the pain in her arm.

She promised herself one thing, though. Although she was scared and injured, and felt as she needed to take a very harsh chemical shower, she would not cry.

No. She'd never give these Cerberus bastards that kind of satisfaction.

She sat there and rocked, an ache in her chest, wishing that Shepard were here.

* * *

Aisha was shaking as she stood in her office.

She was shaking both out of rage and fear. Rage because Saunders didn't obey her orders, and fear because of all the memories clouding her brain like an incessant fog.

Memories of batarian slavers speaking in a harsh language she didn't understand as they held her down and stripped her clothes off-

She forced them from her mind, shaking even harder. She didn't rescue the quarian to be nice. If Saunders was simply beating her Aisha might not have interrupted. But because he wasn't, Toure acted out. You weren't supposed to do things that were emotionally driven, but she hadn't been able to stop herself. No one had helped her, and she remembered the feeling of weakness and fury, fury at not being stronger than them, fury that someone would ever try to violate a person in that manner.

Toure forced herself to be calm. She wondered of it would've been easier just to kill the quarian outright rather than deal with this mess, but dismissed the thought. She needed to kill Shepard. If she killed Tali and all the Commander sought was revenge, then he was a man with nothing to lose. And a man with nothing to lose was extremely dangerous. But if he knew that his actions could potentially harm or kill his wife, he would be more cautious, and thus far easier to predict, and, eventually kill.

So far things had gone rather well, the incident with Saunders notwithstanding. She only regretted that she could've spent more time with Kaiden; the closer he got to her, the harder it would be for him to pull the trigger if he and Shepard actually managed to get to Aisha.

She began to type up an encrypted message and sent it to all Cerberus agents, ordering them to report back to base immediately, or else their contract with the organisation would be terminated, the implications of that left un-noted, allowing them to think what they will. Fear might be a poor manipulative tool, but in small doses it did its job well.

The encryption could be easily cracked by someone like Lawson, but it would take time. Enough that by the time the Normandy discovered the location of this Cerberus base, it would be ready for war.

* * *

Please don't kill me. Trust me, it gets better. I promise.


	20. Chapter 20

A/N: first off, I want to say a super-awesome thank you to you guys. Your comments are wonderful to read and it's very inspiring. I know I said this already but I just wanted to say how much I love reading these reviews. So here, have some Internet cookies.

And Shepard gets the spotlight in this chapter. He might be a bit over-powered in a certain fight scene, but whatever. He's going to go save the love of his life from the bad guys, *sighs dramatically* so who cares if his power level is over 9000?

Just kidding. It's not that OP. just a little love-rampage going on.

Happy reading!

* * *

**Chapter 20: And Oh How it Echoes**

"Damn, sir. That thing is pretty big." Joker commented, turning in his chair to look at Shepard, who stood behind him clad in full N7 armour, staring at what lay beyond the windows of the cockpit.

The Cerberus base.

He grunted in affirmation, brows drawn together as he thought.

Tali was in there, in God knows what condition. The krogan, quarians, and Alliance were ready to provide both men for the ground assault and an orbital strike once they'd gotten Tali out of there.

The Normandy was currently very crowded, as members from his old crew had begun to arrive. Jack, Zaeed, Jacob, Grunt, Samara, and James had all boarded, ready to aid him in any way possible.

He marvelled at the loyalty his crew showed him, who would drop whatever they were doing in their lives and stand by his side. He just hoped it wouldn't cost them their lives.

"Sir?" Joker said, looking up at him. The pilot must've sensed what mood Shepard was in; he almost never called him sir.

"Yes, Joker?"

"You're going to get her back. You've done crazier things."

He forced a smile. "I know we have. Get us in, nice and close."

Joker looked at him for another moment, then nodded. "No problem."

Shepard stepped away and headed towards the lift. He noted that the crewmen he walked past gave him more than enough space, and he wondered what he must look like. Insane? Murderous? Psychopathic?

"Commander?" He looked down a couple of inches to see the small form of Traynor looking at him, somewhat warily. He raises a brow on question. "Yes?"

"The shuttle has just been prepped and is ready to go, and the ground team is waiting on Deck 5 in full armour."

He nodded. "Alright. I'll head down now."

She smiled at him, looking as if she were about to reach out and touch his arm, then seemed to think better of it and put her hand down. "She'll be okay."

he forced another smile. "I hope so." With that he turned and walked into the elevator, pressing a button and watching the doors close.

He leaned back against the wall and scrubbed at his face with gloved hands. It was difficult keeping up a confident attitude when the only two things that filled his chest were anger and panic, images of Tali battered or broken intensifying those emotions to a point where he wanted to beat the shit out of anyone stupid enough to talk to him.

Which would be Joker and Traynor, and by the way they both eyed him as a potential threat, they probably knew what he was thinking. He commended them for their bravery, but was still not yet in the frame of mind to feel any kind of shame at provoking such a response from people who saw him as someone they trusted.

The lift opened up to show the Shuttle Bay, and he stepped out and saw his friends gathered in a small group, talking amongst themselves.

They turned as they heard the lift open and smiled in greeting.

"All ready?" Liara asked.

He raised a brow at her combat attire. "You're coming with us?"

She gave him a look. "I haven't forgotten how to fight, you know."

He raised his hands in mock surrender. "Not a problem, just wondering." he looked to the rest of the team. "Alright, we've only got one combat shuttle, so we'll have to all cram into it. And be ready; Cerberus is waiting for us."

Shepard put his hand to his ear, opening up the comms to the other ships waiting for his signal. "Wrex, Hackett, Raan - we're about to go in. I want help securing the dock we're heading to, Wrex. The rest of the troops can start securing the alternate bays."

A chorus of affirmatives answered him and he closed the comms as the group all stuffed into the shuttle.

Once everyone was inside and relatively strapped in, Samara spoke up. "Regretful that we must meet under such harsh circumstances."

Shepard's mouth twisted. "I know. I want to thank all of you-"

"You don't need to thank us, Shepard. Just let us help you blow Cerberus all to hell. That should even us up." Zaeed said, homely face spreading into a savage grin.

Shepard chuckled, the humour almost feeling real. "That'll be easy enough."

"Shepard, remember that you've got to stay alive to save Tali." Garrus said, looking at him with concern.

"And why wouldn't I be alive?"

"Because I know you. You can't charge in; they're ready for us."

"I can't afford to be cautious, Garrus. I need her out of there as quickly as possible."

"Just make sure you're able to get to her in one piece. She'll kill me if you show up riddled with bullet wounds."

"I'll keep that in mind." he said dryly.

That was all that was said, the rest of the way driven in silence as they all collected their thoughts, anticipation humming in their blood.

He had dreamt of the little girl, the faceless quarian girl, again last night. She kept pointing to the Reaper sticking out of the calm sea, but when she looked up at him and spoke he couldn't hear her words. He wondered about the dream and what it meant. He'd spoken to Tali about adoption-

Fear curdled in his stomach as he thought of her again. _God, I hope she's safe._

The shuttle jerked as it entered the Cerberus base's mass effect fields and zoomed into the dock, jarring him from his thoughts. He clipped on his helmet and turned to the ground team. "Be ready for heavy resistance."

With that, the door to the shuttle opened and Shepard stepped out, then immediately dove to duck behind a short wall as he felt his shields flare.

"Take out Shepard!" he heard a Cerberus trooper yell to his compatriots, who riddled the shuttle they'd just flown with bullets as the rest of the ground team jumped out and took cover.

They were in a large docking bay, with crates of supplies piled haphazardly around. It seems as if Cerberus had indeed been hoarding resources.

Shepard popped up from cover, assault rifle bucking in his grip as he opened fire.

The troopers were cut down easily; it seemed that no shields were attached to their armour. Still, the sheer amount of them posed a threat, and his assault lasted on a few moments as his shields broke and he retreated to cover.

Stickies were thrown into their position and the team quickly rolled away from them, but Jacob had jumped up too high and his shield crackled and sparked as he ran for cover.

They broke in a flash of purple just as he ducked behind a crate and turned on the team-wide comm. "How the hell are we supposed to take them out when as soon as we get up they blow our shields?"

He thought for a moment, then spoke. "Liara, Jack, Samara and I will hit them with biotics; you and Miranda put up barriers so the rest of the team can open fire."

They sprang into action, the four of them hurling attacks at the troopers, Jacob and Miranda adding a layer of protection to the team, and the rest started firing.

Many fell, but when one went down, anther simply took his place, the troopers slowly rushing their cover.

He saw one's head explode from the impact of shrapnel, and turned to see the krogan soldiers he'd requested coming into dock and wasting no time getting to work, effectively flanking the enemy.

He heard Grunt laugh almost maniacally as he pulled out his shotgun and began sending out steady streams of flak towards the troopers. Obviously he found the krogan's opportune arrival quite amusing.

Within minutes the last trooper fell to the ground in a splash of gory crimson.

"Too easy." He heard the deep rumble of Wrex's voice behind him.

"You're the one leading the krogan battalion?" Shepard asked, surprised.

He laughed. "Of course. I'm pretty fond of that quarian you keep around; thought I would help."

Shepard nodded, the mention of Tali making his features set in a grim line.

"Okay. Let's get moving. There hasn't been much of a resistance here, which means that the real defence force is up ahead, so let's move out."

As they all made their way towards the door leading out of the docking area, he opened his comms. "Hackett, Raan. We've secured the docking area and are moving in. Have your troops taken the alternate docks?"

"Yes, Commander." he heard Raan answer.

"Just about. Seems there's a bit more resistance on the Alliance end." Hackett said.

"Alright. As soon as you've locked it down rendezvous at the coordinates I'm sending you."

"Right away, Commander."

"Of course, Shepard."

That done, he and his team moved through the door, which led into a narrow hallway.

He turned, addressing Wrex and the other krogan. "Head through the doors at the opposite end of the bay and meet up at this location." he said, pulling up his omni-tool and sending coordinates to Wrex. "I want to fracture these bastards so badly they won't be able to re-group, so kill anything that moves."

Smiles of anticipation met him. "Why would we do anything less?"

* * *

Garrus was worried.

Shepard had torn through anything in their path, and Garrus literally meant anything.

At one point there had been two Atlas mechs stationed in a supply dock, cannons ready and waiting for them. Yet the threat at being blasted into a million pieces hadn't seemed to faze Shepard, who simply biotically charged one, broke the glass canopy, and ripped the trooper out of it. Spinning, he launched off of that one and landed on the other's back, smashing fists and firing pistol into the power core at its back, then jumping off as it exploded and consumed any Cerberus soldiers near it in a fiery ball.

He was becoming more and more detached as they went through the base. His face was set in hard steel, and a look in his eyes that would've scared Garrus had he not seen it before. When they'd gone to save Tali on Haestrom, or her trial, and even when Admiral Garrel had ordered to destroy the dreadnought they'd been asked to infiltrate while they were still inside, that look had been present, and with it came a disturbing amount of power.

In this state, Shepard was quite literally unstoppable. Most of the team glanced at each with worried looks as he ripped through turrets and soldiers with brutal efficiency, but his death-defying stunts seemed to amuse Grunt to no end, who appeared to be having the time of his life, guffawing as he shot down enemies.

Garrus sent out prayers to both the Spirits and whatever gods Shepard may believe in, because he didn't ever want to see what would happen to his friend if they found Tali dead.

* * *

They walked down another narrow corridor, Shepard in the lead. They'd passed through shipping docks and crew's quarters for the past three hours, cutting down anyone in the way, and still no sign of her.

Fear was all that he felt now; it was starting to consume him. What if she wasn't here? Where would they take her? What were they doing to her?

He'd seen the sick experiments Cerberus had preformed on people, and even though the Illusive Man was dead, there was no doubt in his mind that these operations hadn't stopped. Add to the fact that Tali wasn't human and she was connected to Shepard, and they could be doing anything to her.

_Why the hell do they want me dead?_ he thought. Maybe they saw him as a threat-

He was pulled out of his thoughts as he saw a man round the corner. The man looked like he'd been injured; odd lacerations were present on his arms and there was some sort of cut on the man's nose. They almost looked like teeth marks.

The man's pale eyes looked at Shepard, then bolted back the way he came, a look of terror on his face.

"Stop!" Shepard called as he ran after the man, group following behind.

They turned the corner and saw the man running headlong down the corridor, and Shepard pulled out his pistol and fired a shot into the man's leg.

He screamed, hand clutching at his thigh as he fell. Shepard ran up to him with his crew right behind.

"Where is she?" He demanded, pointing the gun at the bleeding man. His voice was muffled by the air-tight helmet he wore, so he tore it off and repeated his question, voice now clear.

"Where is she?"

"Who?"

He cocked the gun. "Fuck you. Don't play dumb; you know who I am. And you know who I'm looking for. Where is she?"

The man on the ground smiled, a disturbing sight. "Yeah, you're Shepard. Looking for the quarian, right?"

His eyes narrowed. "Tell me where she is."

The man laughed. "Quite a catch, Shepard. Curvy, nice hair, pretty face. And moans like a well-paid whore when you stick it to her. Feisty though, gotta tell-"

Shepard grabbed the man by the neck and slammed him against the wall, eyes burning.

"_Where is she?_" he was nose-to-nose with the man, who was beating on his arm for oxygen. Shepard loosened his grip on his throat just enough to let the man speak. When he didn't, Shepard's anger flared to boiling point.

"TELL ME!" he brought up his combat knife and stuck it in the man's leg, twisting until he cried out.

"Dead. She's dead," he rasped, his face a painful shade of red.

Shepard turned and threw him on the ground, the man's head bouncing roughly on the metal floor.

He brought up his pistol and fired. And fired. And fired.

He emptied the thermal clip into the man, who lie on the ground in a bloody, broken heap.

He ejected the clip and stepped over the body, the spent thermal hissing as it landed on the gored corpse, making the blood on his clothes bubble with heat.

"Keep moving," Shepard said, holstering his pistol.

"Shep," He heard Kasumi say behind him.

"What?" he demanded, annoyed at the interruption.

"Here." she past him his helmet, a look of concern on her face.

His mouth twisted into an apologetic smile. "Thanks," he said, putting the helmet back on.

"Shepard, maybe we should take a minute. You're injured." Miranda said, frowning at him.

He looked down at himself and noticed the bullet wound in his shoulder. With the amount of adrenaline in his veins he'd barely noticed it. His armour also had soot and blood on it, both Cerberus' and his own, and he could feel a small trickle of blood rolling down his cheek from a cut.

"I'm fine. I can get seen to after. Let's move."

"But-"

"That was an order, Ms. Lawson." he said, the small amount of lightness in his tone now gone, replaced once again with grim steel.

As they stepped past the bloody corpse, Shepard felt regret. Shooting the man, he was no longer able to beat him to death, which was all he'd wanted to do when the bastard had started talking about Tali's body.

The man's last words rang in his ears, and he would've doubled over with the pain they'd caused were he alone. As it was, he settled for swallowing hard, trying to force away the lump that was forming in his throat. She couldn't be dead. She just couldn't.

But he couldn't get distracted with his thoughts. He needed to find Tali.

Even if it was only just her body.

* * *

Dun dun dun! Next up is the Big Confrontation.

And just as a side note, I freaking hate writing fight scenes. I blast some Two Steps From Hell whenever I have to figure out the dynamics of any actiony stuff, and have this cinematic masterpiece going on in my head. Then I try and put pen to paper and it looks like kindergarten gibberish. So there's less fight scenes than I'd expected, but I hope the chapter turned out okay.


	21. Chapter 21

A/N: I'll be honest, I teared up a little when writing this chapter, so be ready for some intense feels.

And yeah, I'm updating this story again today, but I REALLY wanted to post this chapter.

Also, don't kill me.

* * *

**Chapter 21: The Silence After**

Aisha hurried down a corridor, flanked by guards.

Shepard, with the help of his krogan, quarian, and human back up, had destroyed every type of resistance she'd set up throughout the facility.

She had known the Commander to be a powerful and dangerous enemy, but she had almost two thousand troops at her disposal, thinking that that would've been enough.

Apparently she thought wrong.

The man needed to be killed. If an eight hundred year old krogan Warlord could not defeat him when he was exhausted and injured, nor waves and waves of her advanced Cerberus troops, what could possibly stop the man from wiping Cerberus out if she started another uprising?

He was hunting her, she knew. She pushed down the small roots of fear that had begun to spread throughout her chest, trying to think of something.

The quarian was still in her cell. If Aisha could get to her—

"Freeze!"

She turned to see the owner of the voice, and did as she was told.

* * *

Kaiden saw Aisha the same time Shepard had.

Toure had a dozen Cerberus guards with her, each holding an assault rifle. The sight confirmed the dreaded feeling he'd felt ever since Tali had disappeared. Aisha was with Cerberus.

Shepard drew up his pistol and levelled it at Aisha, who stood just a hundred feet away. "Freeze!" he barked, eyes sparking blue fire.

Kaiden resisted the urge to knock the Commander's weapon down and drew a pistol along with the rest of the ground team, yet he did not raise it.

"Tell me where she is!"

Aisha's golden eyes assessed the threat, gaze cold. "Why should I do so?"

"I've killed most of your men and I'm about to blow this place to hell. I suggest you cooperate." he said, both eyes and voice icy with rage.

She laughed, and for the first time Kaiden heard the mean edge to it. He wondered how he hadn't noticed it before.

"You think you have power over me, Shepard? I could have my men kill the quarian with a simple command. Do not dare demand something of me."

Shepard's body was suddenly soaked in blue fog, and Kaiden could see the very fabric of the air around him being distorted and warped, bending to biotic power.

A streak of blue flew across the room and slammed into Toure. The ground team opened fire on the guards as Shepard grappled with Aisha.

Kaiden stood there, thinking. He might not be able to stomach pointing a gun at Aisha just yet - the realisation of her betrayal still too fresh in his mind - but he _could_ kill the troopers.

Springing into action when his shields flared, he drew up his pistol and fired into the crowd of guards, feeling horribly dazed.

* * *

Shepard slammed into Aisha and the two crashed into the wall. He heard gun fire erupt and knew that his team was killing her company of guards.

Aisha shoved back with dark ribbons that scraped at his armour and tried to dig into his flesh.

One slit his left bicep, making him hiss in pain, but he shoved outwards with his own biotics, fending off the ethereal lace.

He threw a warp at her, but she disappeared. He heard a shift behind him and turned, swinging back with his arm, elbow catching her in the nose.

She staggered and clutched at her face, giving him enough time to slam her against the wall again.

He wrapped his fingers around her throat, seeing her eyes widen as the oxygen became trapped in her lungs. Then her dark lips pulled back in a snarl and she sent a biotic field at him.

He staggered and fell to a knee, clawing at the neck of his armour. A shadowed ribbon had wrapped around his neck, squeezing until he could no longer breathe.

He gasped and choked, images of fire and stars clouding his vision as he continued to scrape at his throat with desperate fingers, falling to the floor. He saw Aisha standing over him, hand stretched towards him, keeping all of her power on his spasming form.

"Kill the quarian," he heard her say, hand to her ear as she spoke into a Cerberus comm channel. Her teeth flashed in a sadistic grin on her tanned features, golden eyes fiery with dark satisfaction.

He jerked on the ground, mouth open and gasping, trying to free himself. The images became more vivid as his vision became inked with darkness; a feeling of weightlessness as he watched metal rend and tear like tissue paper under the explosive laser of a giant vessel. The sight of a snowy planet as oxygen escaped his hard suit, his hands clawing, struggling to keep the oxygen inside of his helmet.

His vision blurred and darkened, the thought of Tali replacing his memories of dying. She was going to be killed because he couldn't get up.

He bucked violently on the ground, trying to free himself, but dark ribbons held him down, tearing into his flesh as he jerked and struggled.

His helmet was sprayed with droplets of red and suddenly he let out a ragged gasp, his throat free of the restricting lace.

He glanced up to see Aisha standing there with wide eyes, her form swaying.

Then he saw it. The blood trickling down her forehead from the impact of a bullet.

She dropped to her knees, a blank look on her Amazonian features, and fell to the ground, motionless.

Shepard lay there gasping, and he threw his helmet off, coughing up blood.

"Shepard!" he heard Garrus call, and saw his team rush towards him.

Miranda pulled out a packet of medi-gel from her belt, kneeling down next to him.

"Oh god, what did she do to you?" she said, sounding slightly horrified.

"I know what that is," James said as Shepard lay there gasping. "Seen Javik do it before. He called it Dark Channel or something."

Miranda slit the top of the packet and went to apply it to the various cuts on his body, but Shepard grabbed her wrist.

"No. I heard her order someone to kill Tali. We have to find her."

Miranda looked at him for a moment, then nodded. "Let's go."

Garrus offered a hand and Shepard pulled himself up.

"Hurry, we don't have long."

* * *

Tali looked up from her cot, seeing someone standing outside of her cell.

She saw a woman in a doctor's uniform tapping on a keypad, not looking at Tali.

Tali heard a hiss, and looked up to see a vent in the cell begin to blow out a yellowish gas, and her eyes widened. They were going to kill her, which meant that Shepard was probably nearby.

Tali covered her mouth and nose with her hand and stood on top of the cot, seeing the yellow gas snake low to the floor. It was heavier than oxygen, meaning that the higher she was the longer she'd live. But it was coming in fast, and she had only minutes.

She looked around for something, anything that she could use to break her cell open, but came up empty. Only a small table that was bolted to the wall and her cot were what furnished her tiny prison.

The gas was up to her shins now and she let out a sob, chest clenching with fear. She couldn't die, not now. Shepard was coming for her.

Adrenaline and panic shot into her system and she jumped down from her cot, banging on the glass. Rational thought flew from her mind as death snaked around her waist, waiting to be inhaled.

She saw the woman look up at her, locking eyes with Tali.

The woman must have seen the fear in her eyes, the terror, and for a second Tali thought she saw a glimpse of sadness in the woman's gaze.

Then it was gone, replaced by a cold mask, and the woman walked away, not paying attention to the pounding of fists against glass.

It reached her chest now and Tali tasted the acrid stench of the deadly gas. She began to cough and choke, oxygen become more and more thin.

Her vision darkened and spots of light flashed in front of her eyes, and as she sank to the ground she thought of John, images of him so vivid she even thought she heard his voice.

_I love you._

* * *

Shepard and his team ran down hallways and burst through doors, his body burning from his wounds and chest so tight with terror he could barely breathe.

They'd located Tali's cell on the map and used the most direct route, but still he didn't know if they could find her in time.

He burst through a door to find a woman about to walk out of the entryway he'd just come into. She started at the commotion, looking at him with an expression of terror. Beside her was a glassed-in cell, which seemed to be filled with yellow gas.

"_Tali!_" he yelled, seeing her unconscious form lying on the floor of the cell.

He shoved the woman out of the way, sending her flying back into a console. He flung a biotic warp at the door, not wanting to fire his gun at the glass for fear of the gas being flammable.

The material bent and warped, giving a screeching groan before it shattered.

He ran into the cell and scooped her up, noting the contusions on her face and gash down her arm as he retreated out of the room.

Shepard stepped away from the cell and laid her on the floor, well away from the gas leaking out of the chamber.

He dimly registered Kasumi walking over to the cell and stopping the flow of the deadly gas with a couple taps on a keypad as he checked Tali for a pulse.

His gloved fingers searched her neck, frantically looking for a heartbeat. There wasn't one. He pressed his hands to her chest, counting under his breath as he tried to restart her heart. _One, two, three..._

He pressed his mouth to hers, blowing into her lungs. Having no response, he started to pump at her chest again. "Wake up, wake up..."

Again he blew into her mouth, trying to force the gas out of her lungs. Still she lay motionless.

He touched a cut on her cheek, searching her face for any sign of life. "Wake up, Tali. Please..."

If she heard his plea she gave no notice of it, lying still.

He began to feel an emptiness spreading through his body, as if he'd been gutted by an executioner. His thoughts slowed down and stopped all together as one thought stood out in his mind.

_She's dead. She's gone._

Those words repeated themselves in his head, over and over. He stared down at her bruised and bloodied form, her elegant features distorted by cuts and gashes.

He saw his life stretch out before his eyes, his future becoming apparent to him in a single moment. Alone. He would spend the rest of his life without her. Never hear her laugh or feel her touch. Her vibrant nature had fled her physical form, and all that he stared down at was a body. It wasn't Tali, not anymore.

She was gone. And he was alone.

* * *

Seriously, don't freak out. I know what this looks like, but trust me. It isn't. I swear.


	22. Chapter 22

A/N: Getting into the latter chapters of this fic, so there isn't much farther to go. Next up will be more about Kaiden and tying up the whole Cerberus thing.

You guys have been really awesome so far, and any reviews are always lovely to read.

Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 22: Long is the Way, and Hard**

Dark. It was dark.

Muffled sounds. A pressure on her chest.

She saw the blood vessels in her eyes glow a dark red as light hit her closed lids. She could feel herself slipping away, her body demanding it have something but she couldn't figure out what.

It went completely dark as something moved to block out the light. She felt lips press to hers and her lungs expanded. She wanted to open her eyes but her brain wouldn't listen.

"Wake up, Tali. Please..."

She knew that voice. That voice, that wonderful, deep voice that she could listen to for hours, held a tone she had seldom heard.

Fear.

Fear? What did he have to be afraid of? He was unstoppable, immovable.

Who was _he? _

She knew, but couldn't remember. He was handsome and strong. A capable warrior, and a man she loved more than anything else.

_Shepard_.

She gasped suddenly, choking and coughing as memories flooded back to her. Cerberus. Prison. Saunders. Gas. Images refracted in her mind as she coughed, her body wracked with spasms.

Blood appeared on the floor and the acid taste of bile was present in her throat. She tried to force it down but her body refused, its need to purge the poison in her veins overriding conscious thought.

She'd had almost nothing to eat, so all she accomplished was an unpleasant dry heaving as she continued to cough.

She felt hands on her shoulder and heard his voice again, so soft she could barely hear his words.

"Jesus... Oh God, Tali..." he kept repeating as she shook.

After what seemed like forever, her coughing began to finally subside and she lay back on the ground, her body shaking with exhaustion. She opened her eyes to see Shepard staring down at her. His face was covered with scratchy stubble, and his blue eyes looked at her with a sadness that ached at her soul.

No, not sadness. Sad was too light a term. It was a bone deep *loss*, and a sort of fear that transcended the limitations of any word she knew.

And she was the reason for those emotions in his eyes.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, sounding hesitant, as of his voice would scare her away.

She stared up at him, wanting nothing more than to cradle his head to her chest and never let him go.

"Sleepy." She said finally, eyes beginning to droop once more. Tali wanted to show him that she was alright, to get up and move around, if only so that he could stop looking at her like that, but her brain began to fog over and movement seemed an insurmountable goal.

He shook her lightly. "Don't go to sleep, Tali. You have to stay awake."

"Shepard."

John looked up, hearing the flanged tones of Garrus' voice. The turian's eyes flicked to her for a moment, face full of worry and fear. "They know that she's dead. Her remaining troops are going to try and stop us."

Tali wanted to know what they were talking about, but her lids got heavy and she tuned out of the conversation, ears no longer functioning.

She saw Shepard press a hand to his ear and speak to someone, face set in grim stone, but she couldn't make sense of his words.

He looked down at her again, eyes softening. She felt movement under her and suddenly she was lifted into the air, pressed against the hard armour of his chest.

Her eyes closed as he walked on, her body hanging limply in Shepard's arms.

She began to lose consciousness, her senses taking in only fragments of her surroundings. Voices, both the deep rumble of a krogan's speech and the lilting accent of her own people. Gun fire and the feeling of rapid movement. Maybe she was dreaming. Why would krogan or quarians be here?

Her mind heard other things but she could no longer even discern what they were, consciousness drifting away until all she perceived was darkness.

* * *

It was an odd sensation. Being conscious and aware of his surroundings, yet feel as though his brain had shut down.

Shepard stepped on to Deck 3 with the rest of his team, Tali in his arms. It was strange, he thought, to be carrying a woman he knew that he would die without, yet felt nothing.

He'd felt this kind of emptiness before. When his father had died, he had sort of shut down and went on autopilot for the next six months.

A coping mechanism, he supposed. An unhealthy one, but a coping strategy all the same.

Tali was in bad condition. Whatever that gas had been it had wreaked havoc on her system; her heart had stopped in the shuttle and he'd had to perform CPR again. Miranda had looked after her various cuts and scrapes, as well as bandage her damaged arm.

But she wasn't doing well. He could see the weak pulse at her neck and could hear her shallow, unsteady breathing.

"God, John. What happened?" he was startled out of his thoughts to see his mother, along with the entirety of the Normandy crew, standing and sitting around the mess. He realised he'd been standing outside the med-bay doors, just staring at the floor. He noted that Raan was present as well, looking at Tali with expression of something close to horror.

"She's hurt," he replied, not really knowing what to say. By the way his mother was staring at him, he could tell that he probably didn't look too good. Whether it was simply his physical appearance or the expression on his face he couldn't tell, but he didn't particularly care.

Without another word he stepped into the med-bay, hearing Garrus speaking to his mother in quiet tones as the door closed and he spotted Chakwas.

"Oh Lord," she said, eyes widening at the sight before her. Immediately she sprang into her role of the calm professional, giving him instructions in a kind but efficient tone. "Lie her down over there." she pointed to the bed next to her desk.

He did so gently, setting Tali's head down on the pillow. She looked so fragile and small, almost child-like. It put an ache in his chest and anger firing in his veins when he looked down at her bruised and bloodied form.

Shepard had given the doctor a quick run-down of Tali's injuries over the comms as they had flown back to the Normandy, and he saw the doctor collecting an oxygen mask and other assorted equipment as she walked over to the bed.

"Help me get her suit off. I need to look at the extent of the damage." Chakwas said, beginning to undo the buckles under Tali's breasts.

He helped her do so without a word, removing the clasps and belts from her suit. His brain noted in a peripheral fashion that Tali would probably be embarrassed at the fact that Chakwas would be seeing her naked, but when that thought was followed by a whisper that doubted that she'd ever be awake to feel embarrassed again, he decided that thinking was not a good idea.

The top portion of her suit was off and he began working on the bottom as Chakwas started taking care of the gash down Tali's arm.

Unstrapping her boots and laying them next to the bed, he pealed off the bottom half of her suit, then froze as he noticed something.

Dark bruises covered the inside of one of her thighs. He ran a finger over them, a small trail of blood being left behind by his gloves. His eyes darted around to the rest of her body and noticed that one of her breasts were also discoloured with bruises.

The last parts of his mind stopped functioning as he came to a realisation.

_She's been raped_.

He stood there, frozen. The man that he'd killed back at the Cerberus base hadn't simply been bragging to piss Shepard off; he'd actually touched Tali.

His chest began to be filled with some emotion he couldn't quite describe, only that he knew that it was becoming difficult to breathe.

"Shepard. John, look at me." Chakwas said, a hand on his chin as she turned him towards her. *She never calls me John,* he thought, but didn't know why his mind had decided that that particular detail was so important.

Her eyes studied his face, then put a hand on his shoulder and guided him out of the med-bay.

The doors opening, she stepped out and looked around the mess.

"Garrus. Take him," she said, gesturing to Shepard.

Garrus looked up and saw Shepard. He nodded, putting a hand to his friend's still-armoured shoulder and leading him towards the elevator.

* * *

Garrus heard Shepard's mother ask if Tali was still alive, then Chakwas answering that yes, she was, but in bad condition.

He led his friend into the lift and pushed the button for Deck 5. Just as the doors were about to close, Miranda pushed through and stepped into the elevator. He gave her a questioning look but she said nothing, so he simply shrugged, waiting for the lift to take them to the Shuttle Bay. If Shepard snapped and went crazy, Deck 5 was the most open area and had the most things to throw around.

Stepping out of the lift and onto the bay with Shepard and Miranda, Garrus hooked a foot on a nearby crate and dragged it in front of him, guiding Shepard to sit down on it.

Miranda kneeled in front of him, taking his face in her hands with surprising gentleness.

"Shepard, I need you to take off your armour; your injuries need to be seen to."

Shepard looked at her like she'd just spoken a foreign language to him. He was silent for so long that Garrus didn't think that he'd answer, but finally he said, "I'm fine."

"Not having your wounds taken care of won't help Tali."

He flinched at the mention of her but said nothing. After a long moment, he began to unbuckle his armour.

Miranda helped him get out of the chest piece and the arm and shoulder guards, leaving the dense under-weave of his combat attire. She helped him out if that as well, and now he sat there naked from the waist up as Miranda administered medi-gel to the vast accumulation of cuts on his skin. They were short in length but quite deep, but if Shepard was in any pain he gave no indication.

Shepard's detachment was scaring the hell out of Garrus. The man was operating like a robot, his eyes almost blank. The Great Commander Shepard, who'd conquered the Reapers with grim courage, was sitting broken in the basement of a ship, the sight of his injured wife something even this immovable man could not bear.

* * *

Chakwas covered Tali's unconscious form with a hospital blanket, mind racing.

She'd seen what had made Shepard shut down. The bruises on the girl's breast and thigh had made Chakwas' heart ache for Tali; no one should ever have to endure such abuse, especially such a sweet girl as the one lying on the bed in front of her.

It had been over an hour since Garrus had taken Shepard away, and Chakwas had finally done all that she could. Now she would let rest and time do its job.

Chakwas took off the soiled robes she wore and put on fresh clothes, then stepped out of the med-bay.

The occupants in the mess turned as one, and Raan was the first to speak.

"How is she?"

Chakwas smiled sadly. "Alive. She's suffered trauma to her head and other parts of her body, and the cut on her arm has left her with a short supply of blood. I'll keep her under close watch to make sure she heals."

Raan sighed, half relieved. Then worry spiked in her chest as she thought of all the things that could go wrong. Even with strengthened immune systems due to their re-acclimation to Rannoch, quarians were always vulnerable to allergic reactions. Even fatal ones.

"Where's Shepard?" Chakwas asked.

Kasumi spoke up, the ever-present cheery tone in her voice replaced by grim sadness. "I messaged Garrus and he said that he and Miranda had taken Shepard to Deck 5 and clean him up. His mom went down about a half hour ago to check on him."

The doctor nodded, relieved that his injuries were being taken care of.

"Good. Now we just have to wait and see what happens."

* * *

Garrus' omni-tool beeped and he brought it up to his face to look at the message he'd gotten.

It was from Kasumi, and simply said, _Chakwas is done and Tali's resting. Bring him up if you want._

They'd been sitting here for the past hour trying to coax Shepard back into a more human state with little success. Hannah had come down at some point to check on him, but even her gentle words had not had much impact. The fact that Tali was still alive made Garrus blow out a relieved breath. By the way Shepard was reacting he'd honestly thought that she'd be dead by now. He was glad that he was wrong.

He stepped up to his friend and shook his shoulder gently. "You can go see her now if you like."

Shepard looked up at him and for the first time there was a hint of something other than emptiness in his eyes. "Alright."

He got up and walked to the lift, limping slightly. He wasn't in great shape, either; his brutal assault on the base had earned him a bullet in the shoulder, other various injuries such as the weakening of his bad leg, and a multitude of deep cuts on his torso, which was now covered by a simple shirt, Shepard having changed back into chivvied after Miranda had finished doctoring him.

They stepped in the elevator and rode the way in silence. When they got to Deck 3, Shepard headed straight for the med-bay.

"Have you ever seen him like this?" he asked Hannah as they walked into the mess.

She nodded. "Once or twice. After... his father died," Hannah said, hesitating on her words a little. "And at the ceremony after Akuze. I hope to God that Tali's okay; he deserves far more than another death hanging over his head."

* * *

Shepard stepped into the med-bay and his eyes went straight to Tali, who lay there sleeping.

Chakwas smiled at him and patted his shoulder as she walked out, giving him privacy. He pulled up a chair and sat next to her bed, staring at her.

Her nose and mouth were covered by an oxygen mask to help her breathe, and bandages covered her face and arm, a slight sheen on her skin where medi-gel had been applied.

He wondered if this was how she had felt after his fight with Graad. Then shame washed over him; of course she had. It hurt to think about ever making her feel this way, and he sent a her silent apology, hoping that he'd be able to say it out loud to her if—_when_ she woke up.

He reached out a hand to stroke an uncovered part of her cheek, a lump forming in his throat. He sat there for time uncounted, fingers touching her face and watching her lie there, breathing.

She was alive, for now. All he had to do was sit here and wait.


	23. Chapter 23

A/N: As I said, this has some more Kaiden in it and is going to tie up the whole Cerberus and Aisha thing.

Next chapter might actually be the last one of this fic—heartbreaking, I know. But don't worry! I will be adding onto this story with both a prequel and sequel, however the prequel will be written first, as I have the story pretty much banged out already.

It'll be post-ME3 when Shepard wakes up (because there aren't enough of those out there already, *cough cough*) and about how he and Tali reunite and all that great romantic stuff.

And, because it's been asked by a couple of people, there's a bit of Miranda/Kaiden going on. It might not be exactly what you wanted, but I'm happy with it.

Also another random side-note that you probably don't need to read. The names of the last chapter and this one are taken from a verse in book 2 of _Paradise Lost_ by John Milton. Just thought I'd make sure it was acknowledged for ambiguous legal reasons that I'm quite sure won't come up but ones that I should address anyway.

So, I guess that's that. Happy reading!

* * *

**Chapter 23: That Out of Hell Leads Up to Light**

Kaiden watched out of the Port Observation Deck's window as the Cerberus base became engulfed in flames.

Shepard had ordered Hackett, Raan and Wrex to blow the thing all to hell just a few minutes ago, and they were certainly efficient in their destruction. Even Joker seemed eager to use the Normandy's main guns and help out.

He saw metal warp and blast away under the explosive pressure of Thanix missiles, flames pluming outwards but quickly extinguishing as the oxygen was burned up. Stars twinkled in distant space, a contrast of serenity to the inferno roaring silently before him.

He'd be lying if he said that he was happy to watch it blow up. Not because it was Cerberus—anything Cerberus related deserved whatever twisted fate they were given—but because it signified a surprising amount of finality. He could no longer ask any questions, and therefore, get any answers.

Aisha was dead, he knew. He should, he was the one who'd put a round in her head. Kaiden had seen her killing Shepard and his perspective on the issue had solidified in one moment.

She was with Cerberus. And even though she was interesting and intelligent and beautiful, at the end of the day, Kaiden knew where his loyalties lie. And it wasn't with Aisha.

Still, he'd like to ask her _why_. Why she'd joined the organisation, why she thought that that was the right thing to do, and most importantly, why she'd done what she did to him.

A pointless question, really. He already knew the answer to that; it was a simple trick of divide and conquer. He could see the logic of it, but the sheer amorality of using another person to cause dissent among a group for personal gain hurt Kaiden deeply.

His mother had always told him that he was an idealist. Perhaps he _was_ a bit naive, he thought. People used others all the time to get what they wanted, yet that plan of action was so out of Kaiden's perspective of viable options for accomplishing a goal that it boggled his mind to think that someone else would see it as okay. Good, even.

He'd only known Toure for a span of two short weeks, and had only spent one of them really trying to get to know her. But the betrayal was still there, and the fact that it had been planned did not help the ache in his chest.

But for all that, he didn't regret his decision. Shepard was alive, and Tali was recovering, and that was far more important.

He stood there, watching the flames burn away.

* * *

Tali blinked slowly, the smell of antiseptic and the faint tang of blood, both human and her own, greeted her nose.

It was quite dim, the room holding a faintly pale glow to it, the white, sterile walls reflecting the light coming from overhead.

As the fog of dreams began to clear from her mind, she noticed that she was lying in a medical bed. Naked. That thought made her blush, but also sent fear running into her system. Where was she? Who undressed her?

She felt faint movement near her shins and tilted her head up to see a pair of booted human feet lying there, crossed at the ankles. She followed the path of the legs attached to said feet to find Shepard leaning back in an uncomfortable-looking chair, asleep.

Memories of what had transpired back at the Cerberus base flew through her mind as she gazed at him.

He looked terrible; there was a week's worth of stubble covering his face, and dark circles lined the underside of his eyes. Poking out of his t-shirt was an angry-looking gash that wrapped around his throat, trailing up to his right ear. She began to notice similar gashes covering his arms, some bandaged, some left out in the air to heal.

What had happened to him? she wondered, taking in his bruised and bloodied form. His brows were creased together and his mouth was twisted into a slight frown, telling her that his dreams were not peaceful. But then again, they rarely were.

An image suddenly shoved its way to the front of her mind; Shepard looking down at her with that soul-aching gaze, terror drawing lines on his face that made him look years older than he was. The memory was dim and foggy, but his eyes were what stood out. Keelah, that look in his eyes.

The small sound of distress the memory had evoked from her had not passed Shepard's unconscious senses, whose eyes snapped open and whose feet landed on the ground with a muffled crack as the front legs of the chair he'd been leaning back on touched the floor. His eyes flew immediately to her, to find her her staring back at him. Relief and anxiety battled for dominance over his face as looked at her.

"...Tali? How... how are you feeling?" he asked, the same hesitance she'd heard in his voice at the Cerberus base still present as he spoke to her quietly.

"I'm..." she trailed off, looking for the right word. Annoyed that she couldn't find one, she simply said, "I'm okay."

He looked away, jaw clenching and unclenching, his eyes looking suspiciously bright. Whatever she'd said, whether it was the absence of the weakness in her voice that had been present before or her words, it had allowed relief to win the fight to control his features.

He turned his eyes towards her again, his expression akin to that of a drowning man just been given oxygen.

"That's good. Jesus Tali... I'm sorry. I'm so _sorry—_" he said desperately, his voice breaking.

She reached out a hand to him, not being able to bear the expression on his face or the tone in his voice. The IV cord in her numbed wrist pulled on her skin as Shepard came closer, his hand engulfing hers.

"For what, John?"

"For not being there in time." he said, bitter anger creeping into his voice.

"But... you saved me; I'm alive. I don't understand." she replied, confused.

"No... I... Christ, it's just... did someone—" he broke off, sounding irritated at his inability to speak. A rare thing for the man who'd solved a three-hundred-year-old war between the geth and quarians by yelling.

He sighed. "In the base, we... ran into a man that..." he trailed off again. "Fuck." he said, pulling his hand from her hers and scrubbing at his face violently. When he took his hands away, cold anger burned like shards of ice in his blue eyes.

"Did anyone touch you?" he said, fury not leaving his features.

She stared up at him, understanding dawning in her mind.

"...Yes." she said quietly.

He flew out his chair, smashing his fist into the opposite wall of the small, enclosed space of the med-bay. "I should've beat him to death." he snarled, breathing hard.

She propped herself up on wobbly arms, her whole body aching with the movement.

"What did Saunders say to you, exactly?"

He turned, blue eyes almost glowing in the dim light. "Saunders? That's his name?" for some reason that information seemed to make him even angrier. "He told you his fucking _name?_"

"No, I heard someone call him that. And what did he say to you, Shepard? You haven't said."

He scrubbed at his face again, stubble rasping faintly under his hand.

"He... he said that he..." he made a vague gesture with his hands, as if he could grasp the words out of the air. His struggle with speaking was worrying her; she could count on her fingers the number of times she's heard him do so.

"He what?"

"Raped you!" he exploded finally, as if the words were physically painful for him to say.

Images of Saunders' attack floated through her mind, but she pushed them down. "He didn't, John."

His eyes flared. "Christ, Tali! I saw the bruises on you!"

Her fingers brushed over her breast, covered by the thin blanket, feeling the faint stab of pain as she touched the dark bruises.

"He tried to, but he didn't. Aisha stopped him before he..." she trailed off, shivering in revulsion as images swarmed her mind.

That seemed to calm Shepard down, but the fire in his eyes didn't leave.

"Aisha stopped him? Why?"

Tali shrugged, but hissed in pain as it jarred the deep slash down her arm.

Shepard moved back over to her, looking worried as he sat back down and took her hand again.

"Well, it's not important. All that matters is that you're alright." a thumb stroked her knuckles, head canted down as he stared at the smooth skin on her hand.

"I'm okay, John. Thank you." she smiled at him, hoping to lighten his mood. The images still swarmed her mind and anxiety tugged at her chest, but she forced them down again.

He nodded his head, still not looking up. She felt a drop of wetness splash onto her knuckles as he continued to run his thumb over them.

"I know."

* * *

Miranda crept quietly down the hall, making sure not to make any noise. She didn't want to alert anyone to what she was doing. _God, that would be embarrassing,_ she thought, quietly knocking on Kaiden's door.

For the past couple days as Tali had unconsciously recovered, Kaiden had been very quiet and solitary. Miranda sympathised—something she sometimes had difficulty with—and wanted to see if he needed any... comfort.

The door opened and she saw Kaiden standing there, looking at her. Although the hour was late, he didn't look as if he'd been asleep.

Her heart sped up a little. "May I come in?" she asked.

He nodded, gesturing for her to do so, not saying anything.

She looked around her old office as she entered, noting that although the lay-out of the furniture was different, little had changed.

She turned and looked at him awkwardly. Now that she was here, she had no clue how to begin.

"How are you doing?" she asked finally.

"I'm alright," he replied. "What is it that you want, Miranda?" he asked, not unkindly.

She plunked down on a couch, blowing out a breath, her dark bangs puffing outwards. "I... wanted to know how you were."

He sat in the chair behind his desk, turning to look at her. "Well, I'm okay."

"That's good." she replied nervously. She leaned forward, trying to find the right words. "It's just... I know what that's like, to be betrayed. It can get lonely. I was wondering... if you were feeling... lonely." she ended lamely, silently berating herself. _You sound like an idiot._

Kaiden blew a hard breath through his nose, looking angry. "What the hell? Two women visit my quarters in the span of a couple weeks? I don't get it."

Her brows drew together, not knowing how to reply, but she didn't have to; he wasn't finished.

"Thanks but no thanks. I'm not in the mood for comfort."

She looked at him. "I'm not doing the same thing she did, Kaiden. I'm only wondering if you want... comfort. It _can_ help. I'm not asking for anything in return."

He sighed again, sounding resigned. "Sorry, I didn't mean to bark at you. But, why are you doing this? You don't even really know me that well. And excuse me for the bluntness, but I don't really want to have pity sex with you."

She smiled at him. "You're a good man, Kaiden. Truly. Those types of people are difficult to find, and it's horrible that someone would use you. I just... I know what it's like; being alone, being betrayed. And a good man like you... you deserve more than that. Pity has nothing to do with it."

He smiled back at her, but there was little happiness to it. "Thanks. I'm glad someone thinks so. But... I'm going to decline. I don't feel comfortable with being intimate with someone I don't really know."

Her lips formed into a grin and the words came out of her mouth before she could stop them. "And to you knew Aisha well, did you?"

He laughed, some humour showing through. "I guess not. She was a little more... demanding than you, though."

She smiled. "I suppose she was." she sighed then. "Now I just feel stupid for coming here."

His lips tugged up at the corners. "You're not. Stupid, that is. This has actually been quite revealing; I didn't know so many women wanted to sleep with me."

She laughed. "Don't let that go to your head, Alenko." she stood up, looking at him. "I suppose I should go..."

"Why? I mean, you can if you want. It's just, I don't know you that well. And I wouldn't really mind changing that."

She smiled warmly at him, sitting back down. "Neither would I."

* * *

"I am _not_ eating that." she protested, staring at the offending plate of food being thrust under her nose by an insistent Chakwas, who frowned at her.

"Tali, you've been out for four days and didn't eat anything last night. You need to eat something light so it doesn't shock your stomach. And you've lost weight. For a girl your size, that isn't healthy. So eat up."

She looked up at her husband, who was currently sitting at Chakwas' desk, feet propped up on its surface as he scrolled through a data pad. She wondered what he was looking at.

"Help me," she pleaded to him.

He glanced up, grinning as he saw what was unfolding before him.

"You heard the doc, Tali; gotta eat."

"Keelah, you're no help." she grumbled, taking the plate from Chakwas and staring down at its contents.

It was mush. As in paste. As in a form of nutrition she never wanted to eat again.

"Ugh," she groaned, taking in a spoonful. It was lumpy and bland. Just like it always was.

Chakwas, now having taken care of her patient, walked towards the exit, probably to go and get some non-paste lunch.

As she walked past Shepard she smacked him on the shoulder. "I told you to keep your feet off of my desk."

"I know you did." he replied calmly, still peering down at the data pad, not moving.

"Down. Now." she said sternly, giving him an authoritative look.

He sighed and slipped his feet off the desk, placing the small device in his hands on the surface of the table.

Looking pleased with herself, she walked out of the med-bay.

Shepard put his feet back up on the table when the door closed, glancing at Tali. "How are you feeling?"

She smiled. "I'm not bad. Better if I had some real food."

He smiled back at her. "I'd smuggle some in for you, but Chakwas would probably kill me."

"Oh? And when has the prospect of dying ever stopped you?"

"Hell hath nay fury like a woman scorned." he replied, grinning, teeth especially white against the heavy stubble present on his face. "Mercs and Reapers are nothing compared to the righteous anger of you lot."

"I'm glad you know that."

"Be dead already if I didn't."

* * *

Days past as Tali slowly recovered, Shepard almost constantly by her side. Even when people came to visit her, like Raan, Hannah, or the entirety of the ground team, Shepard still seemed reluctant to leave.

He was forced to eat and shower and sleep by both his mother and Chakwas, who reasoned that if he got sick as well, the good doctor have more medical matters on her hands. To which Shepard replied that he was a man and that men don't get sick, and was promptly smacked by his mother and told to go shave before he turned into a wooly mammoth.

Tali didn't know what that was, but she found the whole conversation quite entertaining.

Now, after three days of being kept inside of the med bay by a pack of horrendously stubborn people, she wobbled out and sat down at the mess hall table.

The ground team was assembled around the Crew Deck, wanting any updates on her condition. Everyone watched her as she unsteadily plunked down in her chair, and she grimaced. She hated being the centre of attention.

"How are you feeling?" Shepard asked, hovering around her.

She felt like if someone asked her that question again she'd go find her shotgun, but didn't think that was entirely appropriate, and so she settled for a simple, "I'm fine."

John's brows creased together. "Are you sure? You look a little pale."

"Yeah, you don't want to overdo it." Kasumi added, looking worried as well.

*That's it, I'm getting my shotgun,* she thought.

Wrex's deep voice appeared behind her. "Leave her alone; she looks fine. Pretty beat up, but fine."

She turned in her chair, wincing at the discomfort it caused. "Thanks... I think."

He laughed. "No problem, quarian."

Something beeped behind her, and she looked over to see Shepard standing there, glancing down at his omni-tool, brows creased in thought.

"Who's that?" Garrus asked.

"The council," Shepard replied distractedly, not looking up. "I want to have a meeting with them and see if they know anything about Toure."

Kaiden frowned. "You think there's an agent in the Council?"

Shepard shrugged. "Wouldn't be the first time; look at Udina."

Kaiden nodded. "True. I hope you're wrong though. Wouldn't want to have to shoot another Councilor."

"I hope I am too." he replied, eyes darkening.

* * *

Tali stepped out of the elevator with Shepard and into Deck 1. She had insisted sleeping here tonight, and Shepard was happy to oblige her.

It was an odd feeling. She felt horribly exposed ever since her capture, and wanted to feel the safety of falling asleep in Shepard's arms. Now though, her heart beat heavily in her chest and she felt anxious.

Stepping into the cabin, she looked up at him. He looked down at her, smiling slightly. "Ready for bed?" he asked quietly.

She nodded, not saying anything. She wondered at her emotions; what did she have to be worried about? There was no person in the galaxy she trusted more than this man, but suddenly she felt claustrophobic.

He cupped a hand to cheek, thumb running over a healing scratch. "What's the matter?"

She smiled at him, hiding her fear. "Nothing. I'm okay."

He studied her suspiciously for some moments, wordless.

Finally, "May I kiss you?"

Under normal circumstances she would've thought that question absurd. Now though, she only nodded, pushing her terrified feelings down. "Yes," she said, breath come out a little shakily.

His blue gaze studied her for another moment, then he leaned in slowly, gently pressing his lips to hers.

As soon as their mouths met, images and sensations violently flew to the surface of her mind; teeth scraping against hers, cruel fingers twisting her breast, and something hard pressing into her thigh.

She brought up her hands and shoved Shepard away, his back hitting the fish tank as she backed up against the wall, eyes wide.

He looked at her, seeing the fear in her eyes. His jaw clenched. "I'm sorry, Tali."

She shook her head, eyes watering. "It's not... it's... not your—" her voice broke and she hugged herself, sliding down onto the floor, tears making wet tracks on her skin.

She began to rock, anger and fear pushing around in her chest, emotions and her crying making it difficult to breathe.

Shepard reached out to touch her, but she cringed away from him. "Please... please don't touch me."

He nodded, instead sliding down on the opposite wall, simply staring at her.

She pounded the ground with a fist, once, twice. The anger that she had felt boiled up inside her, blocking out everything else. "How dare he try to do that to me? How _dare_ he? He has no right! I—" her voice broke again and she wrapped her arms around herself, trying to hold back the pain.

She looked up to see a tortured expression on Shepard's face. He gazed back at her, at a loss for words.

She began to yell now. "I... I couldn't even defend myself! All my training, all the wars I've fought with you! It might as well have meant nothing! I've fought mercs and krogan, Reapers and rachni and geth! Then *he* comes along and has me on the ground in a second! Some stupid, disgusting, scum of a man who wants to stick his—" she sobbed, breaking off.

She began to rock again, face buried in the tops of her knees. "I couldn't do anything... I couldn't..."

She felt movement beside her and knew that Shepard had sat next to her, getting as close to her as he could without touching her.

She put her arms around him, sobbing into his chest. She felt his arms encircle her wracking frame, face pressed to her hair, rocking her gently. He murmured incoherently into her hair, voice soft and calming, though calm was the last thing he felt.

"He's dead, Tali. He won't ever hurt you again. And by God, I'll make sure not another person does."

She sat there for she didn't know how long, sobbing into his chest, expending all the pain and rage she hadn't even known she'd felt.

Finally, as her rocking began to subside, she wiped at her nose. She felt drained, but better than she had since she'd been captured.

She looked up at him, giving him a wobbly smile. "You're such a sweet man, John." she touched his cheek. "Thank you for staying here with me."

He smiled at her. "It's my job Tali; you don't have to thank me."

She pressed her lips to his. And this time, as he carried her over to the bed, no images of violence fogged her mind. Only peace.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24: Epilogue**

"We are again in your debt, Commander. You seem to have completely obliterated Cerberus this time," Sparatus said, looking down at him and his team from where he stood atop the dais with the other Councilors.

Shepard nodded, noting the slight inflections in the turian's dual tones which implied that had he done his job correctly the first time, Cerberus wouldn't have been an issue now. Still, he hardly thought it was worth the effort to stand there and swap snarky comments with the man.

"Just doing my duties, Councilor. Even retired, I'm happy to serve both the Alliance and the Council." he said respectfully.

Urdnot Sajuk, the krogan Council member, spoke up, his gravelly voice echoing in the large chamber. "And I have to thank you as well, Shepard. You destroyed the rebellion on Tuchanka and made both mine and Warlord Wrex's job a lot easier. You also seem to have made even more of a name for yourself; taking out Graad hand-to-hand was impressive, especially for a human."

His lips tugged into a smile. Someone else might've taken the human comment as an insult, but Shepard knew that the Councilor wasn't being arrogant; krogan were a bitch to kill, even to other krogan. "Happy to help." he replied. Then, noticing that Bagley was absent, spoke up once more.

"What happened to Bagley?" he already suspected what the answer would most likely be, but asked anyway.

"It seemed odd that Thomas Bagley was so adamant about Toure accompanying you, so we had a trusted agent search his office, and found him guilty of working with Cerberus. He is being held by authorities and will stand on trial for his treasonous actions." Tevos supplied.

Shepard nodded, frowning. "I hope the next human Councilor won't have a predisposition to working with terrorist organisations."

"Neither do we," Tevos agreed. "Is there anything else you wish to speak about?"

Shepard shook his head. "No, Councilor."

She nodded. "Then this meeting is concluded. I again thank all of you and hope that this is the last time you need to take up arms against an enemy; You and your team have certainly earned a little peace."

Shepard and his group inclined their heads respectfully and offered thank-yous, then turned to walk out of the Council Chambers.

"You and Sparks heading back to Rannoch now?" Vega asked, walking up beside Shepard as they descended the staircase leading to the elevator.

He smiled. "Probably. We'll have to make repairs on the house, though; the damn assassin destroyed the whole front hallway."

"As long as you let me do the repairs," Tali said beside him.

"Tali, I helped build half of the damn house. I know how to fix the hallway."

"Yes, but the half _I_ built looks a lot better."

"That's your opinion."

Garrus smiled to himself as he heard the two of them argue, shaking his head. It was horribly cliche, but they really did sound like an old married couple.

Having taken the elevator and ending up on the Presidium, an idea formed in his mind as his eyes lighted upon a certain establishment.

"So, before you two fly off to Rannoch and fight to the death over the reconstruction decisions, want to get drunk first?"

There was a collective grin spread out among the entire group and even Samara's serene features held a touch of humour.

"I like the way you think, turian," Jack said, eyes sparking with anticipation.

* * *

Shepard looked around the table, watching his friends engage in various drunken activities as he sipped at his whiskey, the dark amber liquid burning pleasantly down his throat and setting up a warm fire in his stomach.

A large portion of bar had been sectioned off for him and his team, the owner of the establishment, which was named Water of Styx, was enthusiastic, to say the least, about the Saviour of the Galaxy and his legendary squad wanting to spend money here.

Tali poked her husband in the ribs and pointed to the "wild" table, which included Grunt, Zaeed, Jack, James and Wrex.

The two krogan sitting there seemed to be locked in a fierce arm wrestle, whilst Zaeed called out bets to others sitting at alternate tables.

He chuckled, and Tali snuggled closer to him in the comfy padding of the booth. "Seems like they're having fun." he commented.

"It's always entertaining to watch some of the fiercest soldiers in the galaxy get drunk and do dumb, normal-people things." Tali agreed.

"If you two get any closer I'm moving to another table." Garrus said as he got up to refill his drink. "I hear the washroom is quite spacious if you feel any amorous inclinations."

Tali swatted at his arm as the turian walked by, who dodged around the offending hand and laughed, walking up to the bar.

Shepard chuckled again, hugging Tali closer, looking at his other friends and watching what they were doing.

Kasumi looked to be interrogating Jacob on the state of Brynn, who was heavily pregnant with their third child. Samara had begun speaking to Jack, who both seemed to be talking about biotic techniques. Although Samara's side of the conversation was purely academic, Jack took this as an opportunity to tell the Justicar about some of the best kills she'd gotten while using her powerful abilities. Even though Jack had become very serious about her role as teacher at Grissom Academy, she never lost that sadistic glee when it came to combat. Kaiden and Miranda looked to also be in deep conversation, though they seemed to be leaning a bit closer to one another than usual, a sight that made Shepard smile to himself. Seemed that Kaiden had moved on, for which Shepard was happy. Alenko was an honest and kind man, and deserved far better than Toure.

He drained his glass, leaning back into the cushions with Tali. They'd go back to Rannoch, fix/argue about the front hallway, and one day, hopefully start a family. The thought filled him with both euphoria and fear. Euphoria about the fact that he'd be able to raise a child with Tali, watch his son or daughter grow and learn. And fear because he didn't have a goddamn clue how to raise said child.

But no matter how horrible a parent he may turn out to be, he knew that he'd at least be able to live in peace with his wife and child.

And that was all he'd ever asked for.

* * *

So, that's it!

The Storm has been both a joy and a bitch to write, but you wonderful people have been incredibly helpful during this arduous process, and I want to say a very big thank-you.

When I originally sat down to write the first chapter, this was actually supposed to be a simple one-shot about Shepard's horrible technical skills. Then I started thinking and look at what happened.

Next up will be a prequel to this story. As I said earlier, it'll start when Shepard wakes up after defeating the Reapers, as well as look at Tali and the Normandy and how they get reunited and whatnot. So, stick around if you want to read!

And again, thank you for the wonderful reviews. You guys are awesome!


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